Protector: Something at First Sight
by Kittanja
Summary: Hollywood actor Edward Cullen moves back home to New York to reconnect with his family, and escape the stress of LA after a bad break-up and the end of filming for his latest movie. On his first night back in town he goes to visit his cousin's new club, and meets a beautiful yet odd young brunette. EPOV,A/H, canon pairings. Rated M for mature themes and later lemons. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer ****  
Stephanie Meyer owns the twilight universe. I am only playing with her characters. **

**Content Warning!**** This story is ****rated M for Mature readers****. It contains a lot of foul language, drinking, mild drugs, violence, death, sexual assault and Adult content, and is not appropriate for all readers. Don't leave me responsible for ruining your innocence, please? **

**And you'll need to give me a little creative lee-way here. I'm not nearly as smart as I think I am. Enjoy!**

**Chapter songs:  
USS- This is the Best  
C2C- Down the Road**

**. . . . . . . . . .**

**Protector: Something at First Sight  
Edward**

_**If I had to choose only one word to describe her, it would have to be a **_**Protector**_**. I don't think she even realized it sometimes, and despite that confident and fierce aura she constantly emitted, everything in her being was geared towards some higher goal of protecting someone else. Especially those she loved, but not slightly limited to. It was just her nature.**_

_**And since the first moment I saw her, my nature became to want her. I wouldn't go so far as to call it **_**love at first sight**_**, it definitely wasn't for her, but since the first second I laid eyes on her she became the only thing I would ever want again.**_

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"Come on Edward, I'll make the calls and everything. There's a great agency in New York-"

"Fucking Christ, Tyler. I don't want a damn P.A. I don't need one. I told you, I'm out right now, okay? I can take care of myself."

"At least let me set you up with some security. That apartment- man, you need _something_. And I have at least a hundred requests for interviews and-"

_"Edward!"_

I sighed, griping onto my phone tighter. "Well you can tell them all to go fuck themselves. I gotta go, I'll call when I call." I hung up my phone, turning it off again as I turned to the sound of her voice. I felt myself smile genuinely for the first time in what felt like eons, and set my bag down just in time to catch her in my arms.

"Hey mom." I squeezed her tightly as she clung to me, sniffling.

"I can't believe you're actually _here,_" she cried. I'm sure if I let go of her she could have safely hung from my shoulders on her own without falling, judging by the strength of her grip, but I wasn't going to take the chance.

"I told you I was moving back," I said with a laugh.

"I know, I just didn't think you would actually _do_ it," she said, laughing lightly as she let me go. I tried not to frown. I was quite aware of how out of touch I had become with them, but that was going to change. I didn't blame her for her incredulity; I would prove to them all that I was serious with my actions.

With filming finished, there was nothing holding me in L.A. anymore. I needed a break, from all of it, from the looming threat of running into _her_. From the paparazzi throwing _her_ name at me every time I left the studio or my hotel. What better place than home?

Mom looked up at me worriedly, taking my face in her hands.

"How are you doing sweetie?"

I knew she wasn't talking about the short flight. Without the stage make-up, I couldn't hide the dark circles under my eyes. I haven't been able to sleep more than half an hour straight for weeks. Just thinking of _her_, my fists clenched in anger as I ground my teeth.

Fucking bitch.

"I'm fine Mom, just tired." She gave me a sad smile, and the glare of a lens from the man holding the camera in the corner of the terminal caught my eye, his finger clicking away. She followed my gaze, and I picked my suitcase back up, wrapped my arm around her shoulders and started leading us out of the terminal. I was used to it, but I didn't like the tabloids harassing my family. I probably should have taken Tyler's offer on the security, but really, he was annoying the living hell out of me and I didn't want to even hear his voice. I really should just fire him, maybe get a boat and just disappear, retire early. Lord knows I could afford it.

We quickly made our way out to the car, and her driver opened up the door before taking my bag and loading it into the trunk.

"Sorry about that, I didn't think they'd start to find me that fast."

"Oh sweetie, it's not your fault those leeches can't get enough to you," she said sweetly. I rolled my eyes, fighting a small smile. I wrapped my other arm around her and gave her another hug.

"It's really nice to see you again mom, I'm sorry that's it's been so long." I almost regretted my words when she started crying again.

"You're here now, that's all that matters."

"What's dad up to?"

"There was an emergency board meeting today, but he wanted to come pick you up with me. He'll be home for dinner though, your sister will be there too. How long will you be staying with us?"

"My loft will be ready on Wednesday, and they'll be moving my stuff over from storage the same day," I said, watching her face carefully. I caught it immediately when she frowned. "I really don't mind staying at the hotel though, I don't want to be an inconvenience-"

She smacked me on the back of the head, hard. "Non-sense! You're not a burden, and my son is not staying in a _hotel_," she said with a glare. I held up my hands in surrender with a grin, and she rolled her eyes at me. I'd been living in hotels for the past month, after putting my house on the market the day I kicked _her_ out of it. A few more days wouldn't have made a difference. "So how did the end of filming go?"

"It was brutal, we went five days over schedule," I said with a huff, dragging my hand through my hair in frustration. I get why they wanted Jessica, she was hot, but the girl was a fucking idiot, and not even that great an actress.

And she hadn't been much better in bed. That had been a mistake; she had taken on full blown stalker-status since that night in the club.

Fuck you Jack, and all of your bad influence.

The house hadn't changed much in the past five years. New furniture, but nothing else major. I went up to my old room and dropped off my things, not even bothering to turn on my phone and just tossing it onto the bed before going back down stairs. The wind was knocked out of me when I walked into the kitchen, but I caught my balance quickly.

"Hey Alice," I said in exasperation, she dropped down to her feet gracefully, glaring at me before she punched me in the gut. She was a tiny thing, it didn't hurt.

"Don't you hey me, why didn't you answer any of my texts?" She shouted in annoyance. It was hard to take her seriously when she was angry. Even with her tall, designer heels she was still barely five foot five, very petite. She had cut her hair since the last time I saw her, it was now in an artfully messy, a-symmetrical bob, barely brushing against her left shoulder, and a couple inches longer on the right side.

"Phone's off, I need a new number. I like the new haircut," I said, giving her my award-winning smile. She didn't buy it, but I could tell I was now in a safe zone.

"Thanks," she said, giving me a reluctant smile. We walked over to the bar, and I made her and my mom martinis before pouring myself a scotch.

Just like that, sitting with my two most favourite women in the world, it was like I had never left. Alice told me how well her fashion company was doing, apparently her new summer line was a big success, and my mom filled me in on some gossip, and told me about some of her recent charity work while she cooked dinner. Dad got in not long later, and we sat informally around the small table in the kitchen while eating. I was relieved to see that he seemed genuinely happy to have me here.

No one said a thing about Tanya, thank god. And to my utter relief, no one mentioned my highly photographed… _exploits_ of the past couple weeks. I actually started to feel like I was beginning to relax a little… But as soon as that realization went through my mind, my teeth clenched, and my leg started shaking under the table.

No, I did not want to spend tonight in my head. I needed to do something. It was Friday night for fuck sakes, and I was Edward Fucking Cullen. I wasn't going to sit here and sulk like a girl.

Tonight was going good though, I didn't want to screw it up by leaving.

Fuck.

"Hey, since its Friday night I was wondering if you'd wanted to go check out Rose's club? You haven't been yet, right?"

Best little sister ever. I smiled at her, and she winked. "That sounds great actually," I said, trying not to sound_ too_ relieved. "How is my little cousin doing these days?"

"Great, business is booming, the club has been doing amazingly well," she said, her fingers flying across her phone as she talked. As soon as she put it down, it vibrated and she picked it up again. Mom frowned in disapproval.

"Am I going to have to enact the electronics at the dinner table ban again?" She asked, giving her a pointed look.

"I'm talking to Rose, she's family. This doesn't count," she said easily. Mom shook her head, and I helped her as she started to clear the table. It was easier to stay calm if I kept busy.

My third scotch was starting to help too.

I jumped slightly when my mom ran her fingers through the back of my hair.

"You should get a haircut sweetie," she said in a disapproving tone.

Yeah, I was aware of that, but my last stylist got called to a set in New Zealand, and it took a great deal of trust to let someone near _my_ hair with a pair of scissors. "I like it this this," I lied.

She sighed, shaking her head as she walked away.

"I brought a suit for you, it's hanging by the front door," Alice said, handing me her empty glass so I could put it in the dishwasher for her.

"I brought suits with me," I said, knowing it was pointless. It was just nice to be talking to her though.

_You're such a girl._

"Pfft. I brought you one of _my_ suits. I won't have you embarrassing me with whatever garbage your _personal shopper_ threw at you." She pointed one of her little polished fingers at me. "I've seen what you wear in the papers. Fire her, or I'll disown you." She pulled a tape measure out of her pocket, and I didn't bother to fight her has she took a few of my measurements.

She's been doing this since she was three, and made me wear the dresses she would make out of mom's sheets and curtains.

"Just what I thought. I'll be sending over some new clothes in a couple days, burn your suitcases. We're leaving in an hour."

And with that, she disappeared. I sighed around my amused smile, and finished tidying up the kitchen before grabbing the suit, and getting changed upstairs.

. . . . . . . . . .

"So how are you doing, really?" She asked quietly as the driver took us through the city. I didn't like the way he kept eying my baby sister, and saw his face pale in the rear-view at I shot him a warning glare.

"I'm fine, just pissed. Every time I think of her I just want to fucking punch something," I hissed. She squeezed my hand, and I relaxed slightly after running my other hand through my hair. "I'll be fine though, thanks."

"I'm really sorry Edward."

"It's okay." I looked up, and found her smiling at me. "What?"

"She asked me to make her a dress for the Emmy's a couple months ago."

"You made her a fucking dress? After what she did?"

"Of course not. Well, I didn't give her the dress I had originally made, anyways."

"What did you send her?" Her tone had intrigued me.

"Do you remember that meat dress that Gaga forced me to make for her?"

I laughed, and nodded, hopeful for where this was heading.

"Well, I tried one out of fish this time," she said with a menacing grin. "And I may have forgotten to have it delivered in a refrigerated vehicle."

I laughed so hard that I cried, clutching at the sharp pain in my side as I tried to breathe. I could easily picture Tanya's hopeful, greedy face opening up the trunk, only to find a puddle of rotted fish and throwing up everywhere.

"You are the most amazing baby sister anyone could ever hope for," I told her happily, pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheek. She pushed me away, threatening bodily harm if I wrinkled her dress.

The driver pulled up in front of Eclipse, and I stepped out and offered my arm to my little sister while ignoring the shrill screams and bright flashes. I quickly scanned the outside of the building, noting the line of people stretching all the way around the corner. It was a grey stone building, three stories high, with reflective glass windows stretching the length of the top and bottom floors. Centered over the large red doors was the name of the club, the large C being represented by the image of a crescent moon.

I didn't have to give my name. The bouncer, a large man with long black hair tied into a ponytail and warm brown skin, nodded at me and ushered us through as we were followed by the flashing of cameras.

It was a really nice club. Classy yet hip. There were three bars on the main floor, one along each of the walls except for the front, the center of the room had a large, lowered dance floor. There was a second floor, but the center of it was open, party-goers looking down through the glass walls to the main floor. Everything in the building was either white, red or black.

It was packed, but luckily the dim, blue lighting seemed to hide my identity a little more from the drunken dancers. Alice led me up to the top floor, past a velvet rope, and into the VIP section with obvious familiarity.

And there was my cousin, sitting in the middle of a large circular couch surrounded by people. She laughed loudly, and I saw the man next to her melt, though she obviously had no interest in him. My cousin was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever met. She was wearing a sparkling, tight red dress tonight, her thick blonde hair flowing in soft waves down to her chest, and when she turned to meet me I was met by her piercing blue, almost-violet eyes and a bright smile. She excused herself quickly, and ran over to give me, then Alice, a tight hug.

"Well look what we have here, the famous Edward Cullen, hanging out in _my_ club," she said with a calculating smile. She waved her hand, and thirty seconds later a woman in a tight black dress and curly red hair rushed over with a bottle of wine and a few glasses. "You look like you could use a drink," she said with a smile.

I eyed the bottle with a smile. "Maybe something stronger?"

She laughed, wrapping an arm around my waist and leading me over to the private bar. "It's nice to see you Edward, it's been too long."

"I know, and it's nice to see you too. The club is great," I told her truthfully.

"Thanks. Business is doing pretty well," she said proudly. "Anything you want is on the house, my family doesn't pay here." Just like that, she turned around and walked back to the couch, pulling Alice along with her. I ordered three fingers of their best scotch, and scanned the room for some entertainment while he poured my drink.

I almost looked right over her. _Almost._ That was only because of her clothing though. She was wearing fitted black slacks and a dark blue blouse over a black undershirt, and while she stood completely still next to the wall in the corner of the room, the shadows and pale blue lighting camouflaged her well.

There was no way to ignore the thrilling electrical sensation that shot through and warmed my entire body when I saw her though. She was the most breathtakingly beautiful creature I had ever seen. She was thin yet curvy, with pale creamy skin and dark red lips on a lovely, heart-shaped face. Her dark hair was twisted up into a large, neat bun on top of her head, and when she looked off to the side, the gentle curve of the tendons in her neck was fucking stunning. She seemed more dressed for the office instead of a club, but none of the girls in slutty dresses with make-up plastered over their faces could dream of holding a candle to her. She wasn't even wearing any jewelry, except for a bulky black watch on her left wrist. She looked over to the other side of the room, looking right past me. It was too dark to see the colour of her big dark eyes. My saliva got stuck in my throat as I swallowed.

Fuck.

I could hear my heart beating in my ears, louder than the pulsating music in the club. My leg started trembling as I dragged my sweating palms nervously through my hair. My feet were frozen in place, and I couldn't seem to look away from her.

_What the fuck._

I should buy her a drink, a couple drinks. I should just introduce myself actually. One smile and I could have her bent over the bar. My partner in crime twitched happily at the mental image, and I smiled. I managed to unlock my feet, and started moving towards her.

"Sir? Your drink," the bartender said. I turned around to grab it quickly, taking a sip, and went back to stalk my newly-sighted prey.

And she was gone. I scanned the room, but it was like she had just disappeared into fucking nothing. I sighed angrily, and went to drop down next to Rose on the couch.

Some blond chick started talking to me, but I ignored her as I drank in irritation. I felt like a seagull just stole my fucking ice cream cone.

When I finished my drink, there was a new glass being switched into my hand within seconds, which lightened my mood. Good fucking service. I started listening to Rose as she told me about her boyfriend. Some guy that owned a gym, they'd been together for a couple years now. I was a little surprised, my cousin had never been the type for long relationships, but my thoughts were cut off when I looked back at the corner.

She was there again, in the exact same spot she had been, like she had never moved. My excitement was almost nauseating for a moment, but another gulp of my drink eased my stomach.

I couldn't look away this time, I wasn't going to lose sight of her while I plotted my move. I noticed that she wasn't drinking, it was like she was watching the room, still and silent. A ghost that no one could see.

No, an angel.

What the fuck was that? I sounded like a damn romance novel. I shook my head, and continued to watch her while nodding along with the conversation around me.

_Hey beautiful? What's your name? Are you here alone? Yeah, I'm Edward Cullen. You like my acting? Thanks, that's really sweet. There's a hotel down the street, how about we move this party elsewhere?_

Why was I even thinking? As soon as she looked at me, I probably wouldn't even have to open my mouth. I still thought there was something weird about her, but I didn't care. I'd fuck the crazy right out of her.

Maybe even go back for seconds on this one. She was fucking stunning.

The thought made me grin, but my body froze when she turned her head, and looked straight at me.

Fucking beautiful. My heart made a painful stutter in my chest. Something akin to nervousness fluttered through me, but was battled off by my liquid courage.

I flashed her my Oscar-winning smile, and shot her a wink while waiting for her to fall to the floor.

She watched me evenly for only half of another second, her face a blank, indifferent mask, before looking away again. I felt my mouth pop open, but I shut it quickly and glared at her.

What the fuck was that?

I sighed in annoyance, and tossed back my drink only to have another fresh one placed in my hand again immediately.

I kept watch of her out of the corner of my eye, but she never even looked at me again. I was in shock, my ego a little wounded to be honest. My smile has never once failed to bring a girl to her knees, why was this chick seemingly unaffected?

And why did I fucking care so much?

To be honest, it was kind of… hot. Not having her throw herself at me like every other woman.

And I _did_ enjoy a challenge.

I grinned, and went back to discreetly watching her while slowly getting shitfaced as the night went on.

Damn good scotch.

As it got later, I found her behaviour stranger and stranger. She remained very still, never drank, didn't talk to anyone. It was like she came here to people watch. Who comes to a club to people watch alone?

I wanted to find out. So I continued to strategize silently while I watched her.

I was just about to stand up and approach her when I saw her scowl. It was the first emotion I had seen cross her face, and the raw anger in her eyes almost made me flinch.

She looked fucking terrifying, and it was sexy as hell. I got up, but she stormed across the room, silent and deadly as she gracefully wove through the crowd. I followed her gaze, and my vision went red when I saw what she was looking at.

Fucking James. The bastard had his hand around my sister's arm, and it looked like he was holding her tightly enough to make her cringe in pain. She was desperately trying to pull away from him as he was pulling her towards the washrooms. I was already running across the room to kick his sorry ass, but my terrifying angel crossed my path, and the scent of berries- strawberries, raspberries, or maybe it was cherries? That wafted off of her as she passed assaulted my senses.

And then I froze. I wasn't the only one, the surrounding crowd went still and watched as she grabbed James' arm with one hand, and brought her elbow down on his arm hard enough to make him scream like a little girl. She twisted said arm behind his back as she kicked him hard in the back of his knee, sending him to the floor where she pinned him, his face pressed into the floor as she whispered into his ear with a smile that could have frozen hell over.

I was at my sister's side in seconds, tearing my eyes away from the sexiest thing I'd ever seen. Alice was watching the woman in awe, her mouth hanging open.

"You okay sweetheart?"

Oh god, her voice. It was like fucking music. Much more soft and feminine than I was expecting it to be.

I wanted to hear that voice screaming out my name.

Alice nodded her head, seemingly beyond words.

"Bitch, you better get off of me or I'll-"

She dug her knee into his back, smiling, before pulling a fancy zip tie out of her back pocket and tying his hands.

Fuck, I hope she had more of those.

"Shut it-" She growled, and looked back up at Alice with a sweet, concerned smile. "Would you like to press charges?"

"Uhm, I- I-"

"I would very much recommend it. It seems like this prick knows you, and with my video surveillance and testimony you can easily have a restraining order put on him," she said, completely serious.

Alice watched her for a moment, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders protectively when I noticed she was trembling.

"Yes, she'll-"

"I'm talking to _her_, it's her choice," she said, cutting me off in a neutral voice. I gaped at her.

No one _ever_ interrupted me. I heard a laugh, and looked over to find my cousin watching us with a pleased smile.

What the hell was going on? And why did Rose have sexy ninjas hanging out in her club?

Probably a fucking lesbian ninja.

"Sweetie? Yay or nay?"

Alice laughed then, and nodded her head in agreement. The woman nodded, hopping up to her feet gracefully, and pulled the two-hundred pound man up easily, like he didn't weigh twice as much as she did. She brought her watch up to her mouth.

"Jake, send someone to my office."

What?

She turned him around roughly, and started pushing him out of the room without a backward glance. Rose ran after her, stopping her with a gentle hand on her arm, and I saw her nod once at my cousin while she talked, and then disappeared out a door behind the bar. I shook my head to clear the chaos in my mind, and turned my sister to look at me.

"You okay?"

She rubbed her arm, her face flushing bright red as she noticed the room watching us. "Yeah, I'm fine. I should have filed for the restraining order on him sooner," she mumbled, and Rose quickly pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh sweetie I'm so sorry about that. Are you okay? I've got staff with first aid training if you-"

"It's okay Rose, I'm fine," she said quickly. Our cousin nodded, and led her back to sit in one of the more private booths in the corner. A server came over and quickly put a large glass of water in front of my sister. "Who was my saviour, by the way? She didn't look like a bouncer," she said with a big grin.

Rosalie laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, I wouldn't call her a bouncer, she's much more than that. She's my head of security actually, she's been with me since I started the club." She smiled to herself. "I don't know what I'd do without her; she keeps things running smoothly in this place. She takes care of the VIP room herself on most of the busier nights. You can see why," Rose said with a proud smile.

My head was still spinning, the liquor not making it any easier to organize my thoughts. So that's why she was being so odd; she was working. It felt like something out of a movie, playing that scene of her beating up a man twice her size like he was a weak child.

Fucking sexy ninja.

"You seem really fond of her," Alice speculated. I had caught that too, and watched Rose's face curiously. I know I had been gone a while, but from what I remember of Rose, she just wasn't fond of people in general. It was obvious she liked my ninja.

"I am," she said with a smile that was almost sad. "She saved my life. She's like a sister to me."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice coming out almost angry. It was like they had forgotten I was there when they looked at me in surprise. Rose just shook her head, not wanting to elaborate. Why had Rose been in danger? The thought of someone hurting my family made me grind my teeth.

I froze when the beautiful ninja appeared beside our table. She sat a plate of fruit down in front of my sister, who looked up at her in confusion.

And a bit of awe.

"You should eat something, that sort of stress while drinking isn't healthy. Eat." Her voice was gentle, but her tone left nothing to be negotiated with. I twitched in excitement again at the sound of her voice as I openly stared at her.

She completely ignored me, but nodded at my sister in approval as she complied and put a strawberry in her mouth. "T-thank you, for what you did," she whispered shyly. I'd never seen my sister act like this before, it was completely opposite from the usual excited, slightly-crazed energy and happiness that just seemed to ooze out of her.

Fucking James.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart," she said quickly. I was dazed as I listened to her musical voice, and concentrated on her perfect face as the rest of the room continued to spin slightly in my peripherals. She set down a large manila envelope on the table beside my sister, who looked at her again questioningly. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck before quickly dropping her arm to her side again. "I know you probably won't want to deal with this, this soon, but it's important to do while the details of the incident are still fresh. These are the appropriate police forms, along with James' signed confession and the video surveillance footage," she said quickly, speeding through the words.

"Oh," Alice whispered, staring at the envelope like it was going to bite her. She was silent.

"Of course it's still your choice. If you want to deal with this now and get it over with, I can call in an officer to help when they come and take him." She seemed to notice my sister cringe. "Or I can help you myself, if you'd prefer."

"Really?"

"Sure." She shrugged like it was no big deal, but for Alice it obviously was. My sister whispered something, and the woman sighed again before leaning over so she could hear her better.

Oh god, look at that ass. It was perfect. And her legs looked amazing in those tight black pants... My hand automatically reached up, but I managed to catch myself and drop my hand back onto the table. She stood back up.

"Not with a signed confession, which I've already acquired. It's already a done deal, I have experience handling this sort of thing," she said in a gentle voice. Alice beamed at her, but her words caught me as strange.

"How'd you get a signed confession from him? You've only been gone like twenty minutes," I asked, my voice almost cracking after being silent for so long. She looked over at me.

Chocolate brown. Before this moment I would have said that brown was the most boring eye colour there was. Not anymore. They were so deep, warm, _intense_. My brown-eyed girl, fucking gorgeous.

_My girl? What the hell is wrong with me? Get your shit together, Cullen._

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to," she told me with a menacing smile. I shuddered, making her grin wider before she looked back at my sister. "What's your verdict sweetheart?"

"I'd like to get it over with now, you sure you don't mind?"

"Nope. You want somewhere more private, or right here?" Alice wanted to stay with us, and she got up and wove her way through the crowd before disappearing once again. She was back in what seemed like seconds, a sleek black laptop in her hands. She slid in next to Alice, but when she opened it up, her hand went to her ear as she scowled.

"Just toss his ass Jake." Pause. "I don't give a shit." She sighed irritably, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine, get Felix to pull him through and set him up with Carlos." Pause. "He's on _my time_ right now, if I come down there and he has his dick in some girl's mouth, I'll cut it off, and then I'll fire his ass. Get it done." She pulled a blackberry out of her pocket, scrolled through something, then brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Carlos, It's B. Yeah, Felix is going to bring one by, just give him a fucking sandwich or something and put it on my tab, then put him in a cab. I'll stop by on my way out." Pause. "Bite me." She hung up, and put the phone back in her pocket and started typing.

I'm glad I was sitting down, because I was full on hard right now listening to her talk like that.

I wanted to marry this woman.

_Shut up!_

"Sorry about that," she said, voice all soft and comforting with my sister again. I was tempted to laugh.

"What was that?" Rose asked curiously, leaning in like she was watching an engrossing soap opera.

"Just a drunk causing a scene. Too plastered to send off in the streets, wouldn't be safe. He'll be better after he eats," she said absently, her eyes focusing on the keys of her laptop. Her fingers shot over the keys in a blur, but I couldn't hear the sound of them over the loud music. Alice leaned over to watch what she was doing curiously.

I bet she could smell her hair from there. I reached out and took one of the strawberries off of the plate in front of Alice. It smelt better on this "B" woman, and I quickly popped it into my mouth.

I wonder if she tasted like strawberries too. Her lips were just as red.

Like she heard my thoughts, she finally looked up at me. I couldn't read her expression, but felt a drunken smile spread across my face without my permission. I wanted to touch her lips.

"Hey Movie Star. Does it ever piss you off when all your fan girls follow you around and watch you?" I didn't understand the point of her random question, but nodded anyways. She waited expectantly for a minute, still watching me. "Take the fucking hint and stop staring at me."

My eyes went wide, and Rose and Alice burst into laughter as B went back to typing furiously with a scowl on her face. I gaped at her for a moment, then looked across the room, still a little stunned.

It was then that I realized I had been pretty much watching her for hours like a creepy stalker. What was wrong with me?

And how long has she known I've been watching her?

I couldn't stop my eyes from flickering back to her every once in a while though, just like I couldn't bring myself to leave. Her face was serious yet calm as my sister leaned into her, talking into her ear as she typed and watching the screen as she worked. She seemed to finish quickly, and walked away with her laptop only to come back five minutes later with the paper copies for Alice to sign. Once Alice signed them, she wished us a good night, and left without another glance.

"Wow," Alice said, slumping in her seat and watching the door B disappeared through.

"What?" Rose slid along the booth to sit closer to her.

"She's… pretty intense," she said, and they both laughed while Rose nodded in agreement. "But she's really sweet at the same time. Why haven't I ever seen her here before?"

"Because she does her job well," Rose said with a grin. "She's always been there though. Right from the beginning."

"Is she gay?" Damn word vomit. Oh well, it's already out there. My company seemed to find my question hilarious, laughing to the point of tears and runny mascara. "What!"

"No Edward, she is not gay. Just because a woman doesn't fall for your crap, doesn't automatically make her a lesbian," Rose cried through her laughter.

"What crap? What are you talking about?"

"Come on Edward, you've been openly gawking at her all night," Alice said knowingly. I sighed in irritation, slumping back into my seat when I realized I'd been even less inconspicuous that I'd thought.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are the ultimate hang-over cure, and Edward's going to need them in the morning. ;) Please let me know what you think! **

**There are songs with almost every chapter, all for their own little reasons, some more important than others. There are links to a few specific songs on my profile, but there's also a link to a playlist on YouTube for this story that has all the songs on it, in order. It's there if you want some tunes to go along with your reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy shit! Thanks guys for the awesome feedback on the first chapter! All you guys that Reviewed, Faved or Followed, are freakin awesome. Thank you, I really, really appreciate it.**

**SM owns Twilight, I'm messing around with her characters. Once again, foul language, adult subject matter, all that fun stuff. Go away kiddies, you're not supposed to be here ;)**

**Some more club songs for you:  
Ying Yang - USS**  
**Don't - Ed Sheeran**

**. . . . . . . . . .**

It was nice being back in New York. I spent most of Saturday in a hangover coma, but after that things went smoothly.

Maybe smoothly wasn't the right word.

I felt lighter almost, just being out of L.A. I had missed this city, and it made me feel like shit when I realized how much I had missed my family. And I'd missed so much over the last five years. Fuck, I hadn't even been home last Christmas. Mom just seemed so damn happy to have me here though, eating meals with them and staying in their house until Wednesday, and they all just acted like I'd never left and been a complete douche for the past few years.

Mom had been a complete saint to me on Saturday. I stayed in bed the majority of the day feeling like microwaved shit, and she'd brought me Advil and Gatorade, because she was fucking cool with shit like that. The night before was pretty blurry, but I remember that I got shitfaced enough to lose count, though I'd stuck to Scotch the entire day. I remember the shit with Alice and that fucktard James.

And I remembered the Insanely-Fucking-Beautiful, Apparently-Not-A-Lesbian ninja at Rose's club.

_And_ I remember making a complete idiot out of myself. I wasn't just off my game, I had left my game in a completely different state on the other side of the country. Totally regretting taking those Xanax during the flight and drinking about an entire bottle's worth of Scotch on the same day I meet the most beautiful fucking woman in the god damn world. Fuck my life.

Sunday I only left the house to check out Alice's shop when she offered, before she came over for dinner again. I enjoyed it even more than the previous dinner, and was kind of glad that I avoided the bar for the entire day.

It was the first entire day I had spent sober in about a month I think, and when I came to that realization, I decided this was the perfect time to maybe change some things. A fresh start. I could do whatever the fuck I wanted really. I was loaded, I had no current contracts. The only person I had left under hire was Tyler, and I'm pretty sure I'd made it clear to just leave me alone for a while. Really it was win-win for both of us. He was paid for the rest of the year already, I didn't want him to accept any more for me onto his workload, so all he really had to do was tell people who wanted me that I was out of commission right now. I may not have phased it that elegantly, but he's worked for me for years and knew what I'd meant. There was nothing tying me to anything right now, the tour for the movie release wasn't until January. My last house was sold and taken care of, my new loft and movers paid for.

I had no fucking clue what I wanted, I just knew that I didn't want the life I'd been living.

Monday and Tuesday I was still at the house, but went out in the afternoons. I thought it would be cool catching up with a few old buddies that according to Alice still apparently lived in the area, but it was totally awkward. Not comfortable in the slightest. It always felt more like an interview than catching up with old friends or hanging out. I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd recorded it or some shit with the ridiculous amount of questions they asked me. And no matter how hard I tried to turn the conversation away from myself, it kept coming back with things like "Have you ever hung out with so-and-so Actor?" or "What was the set like for 'insert name of movie here'?" It was exhausting, and kind of irritating. I didn't make any promises about seeing any of them again.

Wednesday I went to my new apartment, and my mom tagged along, conveniently saving me from having to use another taxi. I still had no intention of buying a car. We got there about an hour before the movers. They had their own keys, but I wanted to make sure they didn't fuck with any of my instruments. Mom wanted to organize and direct them and shit, so I let her. After they brought up my piano, guitars and amps, I got to unpacking them myself while they continued with everything else. I was pretty sure no matter where I was, as long as I was somewhere inside of my apartment that I would be in my mom's way. So I stayed in one spot, set up my stuff in the corner that she said I could have them in, then cleaned my piano and tuned my guitars. We had a late lunch delivered when the movers left, and after that so did my mother. I listened to music as I started organizing my books and CDs on the shelves of the huge entertainment center. The movers had set up my new TV and sound system for me, which saved me a lot of hassle. They got a pretty awesome tip.

Thursday and Friday was just spent unpacking and organizing shit. I had to go out for a few things obviously. I managed to get a new number and phone, still having no idea who sold out my last number to the press. Fucking assholes. But I got swarmed trying to get out of the mall. And then again at the grocery store. I hadn't thought it through very well. I was just so damn relaxed, and completely forgot to bring sunglasses or a fucking hat or something. It was a stupid mistake, but Tyler usually took care of shit like that for me. People were still buzzing about the break-up, and I could not wait until something more interesting popped up and all these people who I didn't even fucking know stopped asking me questions that were not their fucking business.

So by the time Friday had come to an end, I was completely settled in, and slightly worried about walking out of the building. There were crowds outside the main entrance.

Seriously, did these people really have nothing better to do?

So I caved, and called Tyler, who set me up with a PA.

I felt kind of ridiculous when Riley came over that night. I explained what I needed from him; a driver so I didn't have to deal with taxis, someone to do my shopping, set me up with a house cleaner, etc… He seemed nice enough, quiet but serious. I was fine with that, because really, I didn't want to talk to anyone. It was taking enough energy as it was to keep smiling around my parents and sister.

I should not have gotten bored this quickly. There was tons of shit I could be doing. I played music, read, just tried to relax, but that heavy feeling, that emptiness, just started setting back in.

Okay, yeah, I was fucking lonely. Sue me.

It had only been a week, but it felt like I'd been here for years. I needed more hobbies, or a friend that wasn't my sister. Sitting in front of my piano and playing videos games all the time was getting kind of sad.

It was Saturday. Rose said that she worked on the busy days, and Saturday would probably be considered a busy day for a club...

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the unhealthy thought. Why did she keep sneaking into my mind? Yeah, she was hot, but I've been with lots of hot girls. None compared to her of course, but none had ever messed with my head like this before either. Not even close, which was fucked up because I barely even talked to her. It was like every time I stopped moving, my mind just flipped back to the image of her.

Fierce. Strong. Confident.

Those eyes. The colour of her skin. The curves of her hips. Those full, red lips.

That ass.

Fuck.

I went over to the fridge and almost grabbed a beer, but stopped myself. It wasn't even noon, and drinking alone before noon just out of boredom was kind of depressing. I felt restless.

I tapped my foot as I looked around the apartment, huffing in annoyance. I had energy, and I needed to burn it. My last trainer would be kicking my ass if he knew how long I'd been away from the gym. Just because I had no desire to work any time soon, didn't mean I wanted to let my figure go. I liked working out, and I _loved_ running. I missed it.

Didn't Rose say her boyfriend owned a gym? I wondered if it was any good. I pulled up her number, and gave her a call. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hey cuz, what's up?"

"Hey Rose, I was looking for a new gym, and remembered you saying that, uhm…" Fuck, what was his name?

"You wanted to know if _Emmett's_ gym is any good?" She asked. I could _hear_ her sarcastic smile.

"Yeah."

"It's the biggest gym in New York, and it's the best. I'll text you the address."

"Thanks Rose."

She hung up. Rosalie had never been big on the whole talking on the phone thing, so I didn't take it personally. My phone buzzed two minutes later, and I texted Riley who arranged for my transportation.

It was an awesome gym, even bigger than my last one in LA. I didn't even ask for a tour before I bought a full membership. After filling out the necessary forms, I was just about to give myself a tour when I was approached by a bear of a man, easily over six feet with thick black hair and dark blue eyes. He was intimidatingly large, bigger than a quarter back, and I prayed to god that I hadn't slept with his wife or girlfriend as he looked down at me.

"Rose said you'd be coming by. Hey, I'm Emmett." He held out his hand, and I sighed in relief before shaking it. He had a _very_ firm grip.

"Your place is awesome," I said lamely. He gave me a big, dimpled grin, and looked down at my new membership badge.

"Thanks. I would say that you shouldn't have paid, but I'm sure _you_ can afford it." He clapped me on the back, hard enough to make my teeth rattle in my head while his booming laugh filled the building. "Come on man, let me give you a tour," he said easily, walking away before waiting for my response. I was a little stunned for a moment, but followed after him quickly.

He showed me around the massive complex, telling me about a lot of the specialized classes and training programs. He was surprisingly easy, and enjoyable to talk to. I felt myself relaxing and laughing with him as we talked about interesting patrons, sports, TV, and my sister and cousin.

I liked him, he was pretty cool.

"Well I'll let you get back to your shit if you want, but I'm going for a run if you want to tag along."

"Sure." It was what I came to do anyways, and I'd always wanted a running buddy.

He led me down to the main floor's cardio room, and I watched as he strapped down a bunch of weights to his belt, arms, and ankles. How much extra weight was that?

My ego didn't really want to know.

I started up my machine while he finished tying down what looked like the equivalent of another person to himself, but his hand froze from starting the machine when his phone rang. The melody surprised me, it was very soft, and definitely sounded like a violin. He grinned and answered quickly.

"Hey baby sis! What's up?" Pause. "Yeah sure, not a problem. I'm going to stop by the club to see Rose for a bit later tonight, I'll take him out before I head over." Pause. "Shut up, you know I don't mind. Though if you're free Thursday I would be eternally grateful if you could cover the AM spin class." He barked out a laugh. "No, the Hell class, you know I wouldn't ask otherwise." He laughed again. "Thanks, I'll see you tonight. Love yah." He hung up, dropped the phone in the cup holder, and started up his treadmill. He was matching my speed in two minutes.

What the fuck was this guy on?

"Hell class?"

"We've got a bunch of different levels for our spin classes. Some are easy, but there are a lot of people willing to pay you to yell at them and push them until they cry," he said with a grin.

"And you're having your little sister teach it? She works with you?"

"Nah, she doesn't really _work_ here, but she helps me out every once in a while. She doesn't have the patience to deal with the slower classes though, something along the lines of "not willing to waste time coddling pansies" or whatever. She works at a Library," he said proudly.

I laughed loudly at his sister's words, and tried to picture a female version of Emmett. I shuddered.

"So Rose said you guys went to check out the club last weekend. How's your sister doing?"

"She's good. It was quite the show. Her head of security, some chick they called B or whatever, completely creamed this dude that was twice her size like it was nothing. It was like something out of an action movie."

"Well, you'd know all about _that_ now wouldn't you!" He said, his loud laugh bouncing off the walls. How was he running while laughing like that? I could barely breathe while talking. I hated talking while running, but didn't really want to tell him that. "I'm heading to the club tonight, you got any plans?"

"No," I said, a little too quickly.

"Good, you're coming with me then. I love your cousin, but its brutal getting caught up in there without male reinforcement sometimes."

"Sounds good."

We ran for another forty minutes, and I was pretty much fucking awed by the tank next to me. While I kept a steady, quick pace, he did sprints and elevations with walks in between. And he talked so easily while he ran. He slowed down his speed for a short cool down before turning it off and peeling off his weights. "I got to head home first then go walk my buddy's dog. There's this killer sandwich place next door to the club, how about I meet you there for a snack at ten?"

"Yeah, okay." I gave him my number, and he gave me a wave before walking away.

I grinned to myself like an idiot, feeling kind of hopeful that I may have found a decent guy to hang out with.

And I'd get to see_ her_ again.

The afternoon went by quickly. I hit the weights for a bit, sweated out in the sauna for a while, and had a quick shower before going home and having a real one. I was standing in front of my closet in a towel, looking at my selection in exasperation. As Alice had ordered, I had let go of my personal shopper, and her comment about her style kept ringing through my head.

I had to look _good_.

With an eeriness that only Alice could conjure, she rang my doorbell and let herself in, dragging along a rack of clothes behind her. I hugged her quickly, thankful once again for my amazing yet weird baby sister.

"Okay eww, you're wearing a towel. Seriously Edward." I laughed, and let her go.

"I met Rose's boyfriend today. I'm meeting up with him later, and said I'd stop by the club with him. What should I wear?"

She eyed me curiously and pursed her lips, but didn't say whatever it was that she'd been considering. "Wear the charcoal one, black shirt, no tie." I nodded in thanks, and took the items over to my bathroom to get changed. The suit fit perfectly of course, my sister was an artist. When I came back out she was tossing things out of my closet.

_The purge_. It happened any time she got close to my closet. I knew it would be futile to argue, so I just grabbed a trash bag and started stuffing shit in.

"Alice, just don't-"

"Don't worry Edward, I won't touch your _precious t-shirts_," she said with an audible eye roll. "Would it be okay if I tagged along?" She asked, sticking her head out of the closet to look at me.

"Yeah, of course. Have you heard anything about James yet?"

"Oh, yeah, the order was officiated on Monday morning. He's not allowed within three hundred feet of me any time."

"Wow. That was… fast."

"I know right? I was worried that it wouldn't go through and he'd just get angrier, but it happened just like she said it would. She must have pulled some strings for me though, for it to happen that quickly. I want to thank her again. Maybe she'll let me make her a dress! Oh, she would look so pretty in a dress."

I couldn't say anything, the image of that perfect ass in a short skirt had me walking out of the room to compose myself.

She wasn't just a hot body though, she was… intriguing. She was a little hostile, but I found it kind of hot. And even with her bitchiness, there was a bit of a sweet side in her when she'd helped Alice.

Yeah, she had helped my baby sister. Damn it.

I sighed, pulling my hands through my hair in frustration. I couldn't just fuck someone who meant something to my little sister and Rose.

But if I was being honest with myself, I didn't want to just bend her over a table. I wanted to run my hands slowly over those curvy hips, feel the softness of her pale skin, touch her shiny hair, breath in her intoxicating scent and taste her lips...

Fuck.

We got to the sandwich place right on time, and Emmett was leaning against the outside wall waiting for us. Alice skipped up and he gave her a tight hug, lifting her up off the ground and setting her back down.

"It's been a while pixie. I heard you got into some drama last weekend, you good?"

"I'm great. I feel like I have this weight off of my shoulders now, you know? Knowing that if he ever gets close to me again I can have him sent to jail. I guess it's good that it happened, I haven't been looking over my shoulder everywhere I go anymore."

He patted her on the shoulder awkwardly, and we sat outside in the cool evening breeze while scarfing down a few sandwiches before heading next door. It was surprisingly nice; even though people were still taking pictures, no one approached us. I was a little thankful for Emmett's intimidating stature next to me. I hated hiring someone to shadow me, but unfortunately people can be fucking crazy, and a buffer was necessary sometimes.

Best sandwich of my life, I was coming back here soon.

I felt like it was Christmas Eve, almost vibrating with excitement as we made our way through the club up to the third floor. I didn't even have a second to look for her, she pushed right past us as we were walking into the VIP room, pulling a drunk, crying girl by the elbow and looking completely disgusted.

"Hey, is everything-"

"I'll be right back," she hissed, cutting Emmett off. He laughed loudly, and we watched as she had to practically drag the sobbing girl out.

I watched her until she went out of view, and turned to find Emmett watching me with a suspicious look. He huffed, before shaking his head, smiling and walking over to Rose.

What was that about? I looked over to my sister, who just shrugged, and made her way over to the group.

I followed, but made the mistake of sitting next to Rose's friend like last time. I wasn't drunk, which made it harder to ignore her throwing herself at me. She asked me to sign her panties for fuck sakes.

I had spent time thinking about it this afternoon, and decided that if I couldn't just… have my way with her because of my family, maybe I'd take her out to dinner or something first.

Women loved shit like fancy diners.

I was drawn into the conversation for a while, but when I saw her half an hour later, standing in the strategic corner that allowed her to see every inch of the room, I got up and took my chance.

Alice beat me to her.

She ran up to her, throwing her arms around her and hugging her. The look on her face, wide, confused eyes, was priceless. She was looking at Alice like she just popped out a litter of puppies, and awkwardly pattered her back after a moment with a slight grimace on her face. I couldn't help but laugh, it was hilarious. Like she was able to hear my laugh over the pulsing music, she looked up at me. Her face composed back into her professional, neutral mask after half a second, and she went back to scanning the room while trying to pay attention to Alice while she talked. I walked up to them so I could hear.

"Seriously, don't worry about it."

"But you must have done something for it to happen that fast, I'm really-"

"I mean it. That was just my job. One of the perks actually. Just forget about it."

"I _can't_ forget about it. You changed my life, I've been running from that man since high school, and now he can't even look at me anymore, you-" she paused when the woman shot across the room like a bullet, and we followed her with our eyes as she ran over to two men that were being restrained by their friends from swinging at each other. She jumped and slid across a table that was in her way without breaking her rhythm, jumping in between the two men. When she pushed them apart roughly, one of them took one look at her and raised his hands, backing off quickly with unbridled fear plain in his face.

Hmm. Maybe he knew her, or had seen her in action before anyways.

My vision went red when the other man didn't back down, and actually took a swing at her face. She swerved and caught his arm easily though, and the room burst into drunken cheers as she used said arm to actually flip him over her shoulder, throwing him onto his back before dropping down and punching him in the face. The music cut off when his head rolled back. She turned and glared at the DJ.

"Mitch, are you purposely trying to cause a fucking scene? Put the music back on!" She growled. She was met by laughter, but didn't seem to even pay attention to it as she mumbled against her watch thingy, and started dragging the unconscious man away before being joined by another man who picked him up.

Fuck, this club was entertaining. I felt like I was watching a TV show. I went over to the washroom and groaned when I looked at my hair while washing my hands. It looked ridiculous, sticking up in all different directions. I attempted to fix it with a bit of water, even knowing it was useless. With a huff, I went back outside, and grinned when I saw her back at her post.

Now or never.

I walked up to her confidently, giving her my best smile with my hands in my pockets.

_I'm Edward Fucking Cullen. I can ask a chick out to dinner, stop being such a little bitch._

"What's up pretty boy?" She said, shocking me by speaking first. I hadn't thought she'd seen me yet.

It's her job to see everything, dipshit.

_Shut up._

Did she say she thinks you're pretty?

_Shut up!_

"That was another pretty bad-ass move there," I purred, amping up my smile. She didn't even look over.

"Hmm."

Hmm? What the hell did that mean?

"Will you get in any trouble for knocking him out?"

She looked over at me then, and I lost my train of thought when I got pulled into those big brown eyes. "Are you playing a cop in your next movie or something?"

"What?"

"What's with the interrogation Chief Wiggum? I'm trying to work here."

"Oh, uhm-" Fuck, what was I saying before? Damnit. "My name's Edward."

_Fucking smooth_.

She scoffed, and rolled her eyes. "I am aware of what your name is, Mr. Hollywood."

"Are you going to tell me _your_ name?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't need to know it."

I clenched my fists, and I swear I saw her smirk.

Was she fucking teasing me, or being serious? I couldn't tell. I _could_ tell that I was fucking losing here though. I took a deep breath to steady myself, and leaned in towards her. She finally did look back to me then. She watched me suspiciously, but didn't back away.

She smelt so damn good, I just wanted to lick her neck.

_Twitch._

"Let me take you out to dinner," I purred in my most seductive voice.

"No thanks."

What?

"What?"

"_I said_, no thanks."

I stood up straighter, looking down at her in confusion. I opened my mouth a few times to say something, but nothing came out. She was back to scanning the room again silently.

"There you are!" Alice sang. I thought she was talking to me, but she skipped right up to the hot fucking weirdo beside me. I thought I almost saw a flash of fear in her eyes as she looked down at my sister, but I must have imagined it. "I was looking all over for you! Are you okay? Is your hand okay? How did you flip that guy like that? He was huge!"

She was trying to fight it, but there was a smile playing on the corner of her mouth as she listened to my sister excitedly speed through her words. "It's all in the hips."

"What?"

"The flip thing. You take the weight in the hip, and use his own momentum, so it doesn't really use much energy."

"What do you mean?" She asked, engrossed now. God, she was going to try to flip me sometime, I just knew it.

She scanned the room again, then looked back to my sister. "May I touch you? I swear I won't hurt you."

"Sure!" she said easily.

The angel smiled.

A real smile, not a sarcastic smirk or malicious grin. My heart stopped at the sight of it.

"Okay, well it doesn't look like it when you see it that fast, but it's all in the hips so it takes very little energy. You saw how I took his arm?" Alice nodded, and held out her arm excitedly, causing the angel to smile again. "So after gripping the arm and turning slightly, you use the angle to almost roll him onto your back like this." She slowly lifted up my sister on her back, her hand holding her weight off the arm by supporting her waist. "Once he's there, you're using his own momentum to roll him over. When you do it fast, it's much more fluid." She rolled her slightly, making my sister laugh, then settled her back down on the floor gently and straightened out her own shirt before scanning the room again.

"That is sooo cool, you should teach self-defence classes or something."

"I do, actually." She flinched at her own words, and I had the sneaking suspicion that she hadn't meant to say them.

"Seriously! Can I take one?"

She turned to her in surprise. "Take what?"

"One of your classes, silly."

"Oh, uhm, yeah. Sure," she stuttered. She looked off to the side. "I'm not sure when the next ones are coming up. I do them at Emmett's gym, I only start them if there's enough to form a class. Just ask him." Hmm, well that explained how Emmett knew her.

"Cool! So you know Emmett? He's dating my cousin Rosalie, but of course you already know that, since you work for her. How did you meet them? Does she force you to wear those clothes for work? I'll have to have a talk with her about that. It's cute, don't get me wrong, but we could find you something much cuter. Oh, I'm working on this outfit at work right now…"

And there she goes. It was like she'd been her best friend since childhood, speeding excitedly through her words, talking more _at_ her than _with_ her. I laughed at the look on her face, eyes wide and staring at my sister like she was a little green alien.

She was more than confident taking down a guy twice her size, but watching her looking at my sister… she looked almost nervous.

"So I think we should hang out, I can tell that we are going to be _excellent_ friends. What are you doing on Monday? The club's closed during the day right? We could go out for lunch!"

"Oh, I work somewhere else during the week. I don't get off until three on Monday," she said, watching my sister suspiciously.

"That's fine, dinner then!" Hah, good luck with that. "I know this amazing restaurant we could go to, it's just-"

"I don't really do restaurants," she interrupted. What was that supposed to mean?

"That's okay, just come over to my place and we'll have take-out."

She pinched the bridge of her nose while clenching her eyes for a moment, then let out a sigh.

"Yeah, okay. Sure."

What? Seriously?

She'll go out with my lunatic of a sister, but she doesn't want to have dinner with _me_? _Seriously?_

… Would she have said yes I've I'd offered to take her out somewhere besides for dinner? Is that why she said no?

_Fuck!_

Alice squealed happily, and I saw the brunette tense as my sister hugged her again. Could Alice really not see that she was obviously not the hugging type? "Excellent! Here's my card, it's got my number and address on it, let's plan for six-thirty? Monday night?"

She nodded in defeat, and I was tempted to laugh.

"I'm so excited! What's your name, by the way?"

She looked back down at my sister for a moment, and there was something strange, almost painful in her eyes when she looked away again. "You can call me B."

"Is that short for something?" I blurted out. They both looked at me, Alice just seeming to realize I was standing beside her.

"No, my parents were aiming to have twenty-six kids, and I was the second. They thought it would be easier."

I stared at her, and she watched me evenly for a full minute, looking completely serious. "Seriously?" I asked in disbelief.

"No," she deadpanned, looked back down at Alice. "I'll call you during my lunch break on Monday, but I really do need to get back to work."

"Oh yes, of course, sorry! That sounds great though! I'll talk to you then!" She said happily, spinning around to leave.

"Hey Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Take your brother with you. I think he's having some sort of mental episode, you should keep an eye on him."

My mouth popped open as I gaped at her, ignoring my sister laughing beside me who was clutching at her stomach. She met my eyes again for a fraction of a second, and winked at me.

Did she really just fucking wink at me? What the hell did that mean?

I didn't get the chance to ask, as she stormed off to pull apart two girls that were rolling around on the floor, pulling at each other's hair. I sighed, and sat back down with the others.

I really did try to pay attention to the conversation for the rest of the night, but it was near impossible when she was in the room. My eyes were drawn to her continuously.

What was really weird, was when Emmett went up to talk to her about twenty minutes later. His back was to me as he leaned in to talk to her, and I felt my jaw clench. Why was he so close to her? She didn't seem to mind _him._ He was dating my cousin for fuck sakes, and she was right HERE.

I saw her grin, biting her bottom lip as she shook her head no to something he said.

God, I wanted to bite that lip too.

_Twitch._

She laughed at something he said, pushing him away playfully. He reached out to grab her, but she ducked out of his grasp easily, and jabbed him in the side. He caught her hand, and used his other hand to mess up her hair, and she scowled at him and sent him a swift kick in the shin that he couldn't dodge in time. Her hand went to her ear, and she said something to him, earning a nod from him before disappearing.

She didn't come back before we left.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

**Hhhmmmmm. Two strikes Edward. Some reviews might help him get his game back, and he could use it, because I doubt he's ready to give up yet ;)**

**BTW, I Am Canadian, and write as such. I like my extra U's, thank you very much, and refuse to crumble under the peer pressure of those damn red squiggly lines.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A super-huge shout out and thank-you to Tarbecca**** for recommending my story over at her Fic Dive on ADF! And to all you reviewers, and those who have followed and faved! I love hearing your theories, and I'm sure Edward would be much better off if he was paying as much attention to detail as you were…**

**Mrs. Meyer owns Twilight, I've hijacked her characters. Not trying to infringe, just having some fun. Go away kiddies, you make me feel guilty for having a dirty mouth.**

**Songs!  
Chop Suey – System of a down  
The Queen and I – Gym Class Heroes  
Counting Stars – OneRepublic**

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"So, how was your dinner yesterday?" I asked, trying to disguise my complete interest by thumbing through the rack of clothes.

"Edward! I like her, she's my friend, and you are _not_ going to sleep with her. Fuck off."

"Hey, I was just asking. I'm going crazy with boredom here; entertain me with your exciting life."

She rolled her eyes at me. "It was really fun, actually. The woman is seriously understated in the fashion department, but I can work with it. She's really fun to hang out with. She just has this vibe, you know? She's exciting to be around."

"Did you find out her actual name?"

"No."

"Why not?"

She was quiet for a long moment before she spoke in a contemplative tone. "Because I don't think she _can_ tell me," she said cryptically, and she let out her breath in a huff before she leveled me with her gaze. "And I'm respecting her privacy, and _you_," she waved a sparkly pink fingernail at me, "should too." She eyed me curiously. "What's wrong with you, anyways? You've been acting weird."

"I don't know, I've just felt off." I've been brainwashed! Someone took out my mind and replaced it with a damn Disney movie. I was acting like a little girl.

I just couldn't stop thinking about _her._

"Is this because of B?"

"No!" I shouted, much too quickly. She gave me a knowing smile, shaking her head, but didn't say anything.

Out loud anyways, I could clearly see her verdict in her eyes.

"Shut up Alice."

. . . . . . . . . .

"So how are things going so far?" Mom asked me excitedly while I picked at my desert.

Fucking strawberry shortcake, I'm pretty sure they're trying to kill me.

"Good, things have been quiet."

"How's work?" My dad asked.

"I've been reading a lot of screenplays, nothing that seems interesting though. I'm not really in a rush to do something at the moment."

"Have you met anyone yet? What have you been doing to keep busy?"

I clenched my fork tightly in my fist in response to her first question. Yes, I've met the most intriguing woman in the world, but she won't even tell me her fucking name. "No, and I've been spending a lot of time with Rose's boyfriend. He owns a gym."

"Oh that's nice. So you're not seeing anyone?"

"No," I said through clenched teeth.

"Excellent, I want you to go out for dinner with my friend's daughter. Her name is Kate, you'll see her tomorrow night."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, _you are going out to dinner with my friend's daughter tomorrow_. Is there something wrong with that?" She gave me that fucking _mom_ look, making me feel like I was five years old.

"No," I said with a defeated sigh. "Where am I meeting her?"

Mom smiled brightly, and gave me the address for a fancy restaurant. End of discussion.

That dinner was one of the longest nights of my life. Kate was hot, don't get me wrong. Great rack, platinum-blond hair and pretty green eyes. But listening to her talk was just about as enjoyable as listening to someone drag their nails across a chalkboard. I made great friends with a large bottle of Chianti, whom I then murdered. Then I seduced her twin, and killed her fairly quickly as well as I listened to Kate talk about herself the entire night.

I had actually thought about just bringing her back to my place anyways, it was obvious she wanted me to. It's been way too long. Now that I thought about it, it had been weeks since I'd gotten laid, but every time I pictured bringing her through my door and ripping off her dress, the image of those big brown eyes and full red lips took over my mind.

Had I actually thought Kate was hot?

What if someone got a picture, and my brown-eyed girl saw it in the paper?

_Why do I even fucking care?_

Even after two large bottles of wine, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just felt… wrong. So at the end of the night, I expertly dodged her good-night kiss, giving her a sturdy handshake before pushing her into a cab.

When I got back to my building, Riley had left a box of new screenplays for me at the front desk, and I took out one to read myself to sleep with.

It didn't work, the story was fucking amazing. An original work of Marcus Volturi himself. I hadn't worked with him since my very first film, and he was without a doubt the best director in the business. It was the action movie I had always dreamed of doing, filled with guns, explosions, sex, and violence.

It wasn't even that which kept me up though. It was the hot sex scene halfway through that got to me. The fucking CIA agent, some bad-ass female that kicked ass in the secondary role throughout the story, had me picturing someone who I knew lived the closest thing to that sort of lifestyle. As I read, I was easily able to picture it in my head. Ripping the buttons off her little blue blouse in an empty, dirty boiler room. Feeling her hands comb through my hair, her nails digging into my shoulders as I wrapped her legs around me and fucked her up against the water tank…

I didn't sleep a single fucking second, and it was driving me crazy. I decided to just get up and go to the gym early today. Maybe I could tire myself out and just sleep the rest of the day.

It was quieter than usual that early in the morning, just a few people catching a quick workout before heading off to their normal lives. I passed a closed door that had loud, pulsing music coming through it, and I could faintly hear a woman yelling orders inside, her voice muffled by the thick door.

'_Cycle Hell, no late shows_,' a piece of paper taped to the door read.

I wondered if that was Emmett's sister yelling in there, and I was really curious as to what she looked like. I almost opened the door to go in, but stopped when the door flew open and a female ran outside into the hallway and threw up into a garbage can.

"Everybody up! PUSH! Come on blue shirt, I said push! Ninety seconds isn't going to kill you!"

I backed away from the door. It sounded fun, but I had to admit I was a little intimidated.

Besides, what if she's hot? That's the last thing I needed, to go chasing after my new friend's sister.

But what if it made me stop thinking about _her_?

Damn it.

I turned around and made my way over to the treadmills, sticking in my headphones and blaring some System of a Down loud enough to block out my thoughts.

I guess I kind of zoned out while I was running, which is one of the things I loved about the activity. My music quieted down as I slowed my pace for a cool down, and I almost tripped when I looked up.

She was _right fucking there_, my ninja. She was wearing a pair of tight black yoga pants, and a baggy grey t-shirt. Her hair was in a pony-tail, and it was fucking_ long_, hanging down all the way to the base of her spine. Her face was flushed, and she looked pissed. She was drenched in sweat, and it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I watched as she grabbed a big black medicine ball, tied the hem of her shirt into a tight knot on her hip, and inverted one of the weight benches.

I was hypnotized, watching her hang herself upside down off the bench, stretch to grab the medicine ball, then started doing furious crunches. She was a fucking machine, and the more she worked the more pissed off she looked. After a few minutes, she threw down her ball, hopped off her bench, cleaned it, and walked over to one of the punching bags. She put on a giant pair of black and green skull candy headphones, and was shifting from foot to foot as she taped up her hands.

I just kept walking, my body refusing to cool down.

I took out my headphones, and was met with the resounding _thump, thump, thump_ of her punching the bag, throwing a kick in every once in a while. She stopped suddenly, taking her phone out of her pocket and disconnecting her headphones from it. I heard half a second of some melody I couldn't place before she answered.

"Yeah?" Her voice echoed through the quiet room. "You know that's not my thing Rose." Pause. "Will you get the corner table at least?" Pause. "Yeah, okay. Not a problem. Love you too, bye." She plugged her head phones back in, and went back to the task of beating the shit out of the sand bag.

I couldn't help it, I walked over to her.

I smiled when I got close, hearing the music she was listening to. Chop Suey was blaring through her headphones. We actually had something in common. She suddenly tossed her headphones onto the floor, barely missing a beat in her rhythm from the action.

"Hey Stalker." How the fuck did she know I was here? She didn't even look at me. "You know, it's probably not the smartest thing to try and sneak up on a woman when she's punching shit."

I couldn't stop my laugh as it escaped my lips. That seemed to make her finally stop, and she turned around to look at me, her hands fisted on her hips.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, I swear," I said, trying to catch my breath. "I just wanted to come say hi."

She looked at me suspiciously, and picked up her towel to wipe the sweat off of her face.

I was jealous of the towel, I wanted to lick the sweat off of her body. She smelled fucking amazing, even with her soaked shirt.

"Okay, hi." She continued to watch me as she started peeling the tape off of her hands, and I couldn't stop my eyes from trailing over her body quickly. She made beauty look effortless. My gaze stopped on the sliver of exposed skin on her hip, and my eyes went wide when I saw the edge of a large, pink scar. She quickly untied her shirt, dropping it back down, and glared at me. I tried to think of something to say, but before I could get a word out, she had picked up her things and started walking away. "Don't _ever_ bother me while I'm trying to work out again, or I'll have you thrown out of this gym," she growled over her shoulder.

I was still in shock. What the fuck happened to her? My thoughts were interrupted by my phone buzzing.

"Hey Rose, what's up?"

"Hey cousin, I have a huge favor to ask you."

"Shoot."

"I'm having a big dinner tonight with a potential client. She's a big fan of yours, would you be up to coming along to butter her up for me?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Sure, why not." I needed to keep myself busy, and it was the least I could do for all the free booze I drank at her club.

"Excellent, we'll pick you up at six thirty."

"See you then."

I was met by an eerie silence in the room, and looked around to find it deserted. The image of that angry scar flashed through my mind again, turning my vision red. I didn't think as my hand shot out and punched the black leather bag of sand hanging next to me.

"Ow! What the fuck!" She had been punching this thing for twenty minutes and didn't flinch. Was she the fucking Wolverine or something?

"I take it you've never boxed before," Emmett said with a rumbling laugh. "You should be careful, you'll split your knuckles if you don't tape them up. Didn't you learn that training for one of your movies or something?"

"Nah, I always had a trainer, using those arm pad things," I said absently, rubbing my hand. "Rose just called, inviting me to some dinner with a potential client," I said to fill the silence of the room.

"Thank God. It will be nice having some male reinforcement. The women in this city are fucking terrifying."

I smiled, watching the memory of my ninja flip that asshole onto his back and punch him in the face. "What's excitement without a little bit of fear though?"

. . . . . . . . . .

Alice came over at six, and we went downstairs together a half hour later. I froze when I walked outside, and saw _her_ standing in front of the limo's door. Her eyes were covered by a pair of big, black sunglasses at the moment, but I still recognized her immediately. She opened the door for us, and gestured for us to get in.

"B, you're not a fucking chauffeur, you don't need to open our doors," I heard Rose call.

"You want me to work for you, I'll do it properly. Get in the car Hollywood, or the pap will be all over our asses." Her voice was completely neutral, but I could still sense the lingering anger for me in her posture. Can she seriously blame me for checking her out? I listened though, and slid inside after my sister. She didn't close the door, and I looked up at her curiously. "Are you going to move over or do you want me to ride on the roof?" She spat with barely reigned annoyance.

"Oh, uhm, sorry," I stuttered, and moved down the bench. She dropped down onto the seat beside me, shutting the door and knocking on the roof twice. The limo pulled out. She crossed her legs, and took out her phone. It was a different one than she'd been using at the gym.

"Stop trying to read my phone, Hollywood," she whispered darkly.

"I'm not looking at your phone, I'm looking at you. I don't think I've ever seen someone make a pants-suit look so fucking hot before." The words tumbled out without any thought, and I froze in embarrassment. It was very true though, with her designer black slacks, a white blouse and fitted matching jacket, it was pretty hot.

Shit.

She's going to fucking punch me.

She looked up at me for a minute, then burst out laughing, clutching at her side.

It was the most entrancing, beautiful, mesmerizing sound I had ever heard. I watched her in awe, and realized that the entire car was looking at us. "Oh man," she said, wiping under her large shades with one of her delicate fingers before clapping me on the shoulder, hard. "Good one Apollo, but keep it in your pants." The car pulled over, and she hopped out, holding out her hand to help Rose out of the car. She walked behind her into the building.

"What the fuck was that about?" Emmett growled. What was his problem?

"No idea, apparently she thinks I'm funny," I grumbled, crossing my arms across my chest. We sat in awkward silence until the women returned, one extra with them.

_Oh, hell no._

Was this some sort of fucking joke?

"Hello Edward, it's nice seeing you _again_ so soon," Kate purred. I couldn't help my eyes flittering over to B. She was watching our exchange with a knowing smile.

Fuck, god damn it Kate.

"Uh, sure, you too." I took out my phone quickly, and sent an apologetic text to Rose.

_**I'm going to try to be polite as possible because you're fucking family, but I can't stand this woman. I'm not going to kiss her ass all night.**_

I put my phone away, and a minute later Rose checked hers. She texted me back.

_**No problem cousin, I get it. I can't fucking stand her either. I was thinking about buying her building, but I changed my mind. Let's just get shitfaced and eat some expensive food.**_

I looked up and grinned at her, and she shot me a wink.

It was bad, but not horrible. Kate kept trying to slide her hand up my thigh under the table, and I kept moving away from her.

And watching our security.

I figured Rose had hired her for some extra security for the night, though I'm not really sure why. We had fucking Emmett and I here, why'd she want this chick?

She didn't eat, only occasionally taking sips from a bottle of water she had brought in with her. She didn't seem to listen, and didn't input to the conversation. She was silent, still, her chair settled into the corner as her eyes were probably continuously traveling the room. I couldn't really tell with her big glasses, she kept them on, but I would have bet money on it.

"So, why'd you bring the help in?" Kate slurred, pointing her wine glass at brown-eyes. She didn't even acknowledge her words, though I knew for certain that she heard.

Rose heard too.

"Excuse me?"

"You've got the hired help sitting at our table, can't you just tell her to stand in the corner?" She was glaring at her now, and I saw my angel smirk.

"Don't you fucking talk about her like that you spoiled bitch!" Rose said, jumping to her feet, and threw her napkin at her while glaring.

Wow, that... escalated quickly. Our ninja was on it though.

"Hey Rose, calm down. Alice, why don't you take Rose to the ladies room, I think she needs to pee." Alice obliged quickly, dragging a scowling, drunk Rose over to the washroom. She watched them leave, then calmly looked down at her phone and started typing away. We all watched in silence until she looked up at Kate.

"This meeting is over. There's a personal car waiting for you outside, would you like me to walk you out?"

Kate glared, throwing down her napkin and standing up. She wobbled, but my ninja caught her before she could fall.

"That would be a yes. Let's go." She handed Kate her purse, which she snatched away, and brown-eyes calmly walked behind her out to the door.

I watched as she walked by the front door, pulled someone out from behind a curtain, grabbed his giant camera, and tossed it into a big vase filled with water and flowers without skipping a beat.

Alice and Rose came back, and Rose dropped down in her chair with a huff and a scowl, but her eyes went wide when she looked at our table. "Where'd they go?" She asked worriedly.

"B went to put Kate in a car to send her home," Emmett told her, draping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek.

"Is she okay?" She asked, and I was shocked to see her eyes starting to water.

"Do you even have to ask? Of course she is," he said with a grin. Rose let out a shaky laugh.

"I'm sorry about that, I just-"

"I know baby, don't worry about it." He took her face in his big hands and kissed her firmly. Their love for each other was tangible, so strong that it made my stomach squirm and I had to look away. The feeling only intensified when B walked back in, sitting back in her chair and scanning the room carefully. Rose jumped out of her chair and hugged her tightly. The soft smile that spread across B's face made my heart feel like it was swelling in my chest.

"Hey, none of that," she said sternly, though her tone didn't match the grin on her lips. She leaned over with Rose clinging to her, and topped up her glass of wine. "Okay, stop being such a girl and have a drink."

"I'm sor-"

"Shut up Rose."

I was expecting Rose to yell at her for that, but she just burst out laughing and kissed her cheek.

"You know I love you right?"

"Ditto." Her eyebrows furrowed, and she got up out of her chair before booking it across the room. Another man snapping pictures of us. She grabbed the man's arm, and dragged him to the back of the restaurant, disappearing behind the doors to the kitchen.

"Is she allowed back there?" I asked curiously.

"Probably not, but it's never stopped her before," Rose said with a shrug, and then started asking questions about Alice's fall line. While they were distracted, I leaned over the table, snatching the lid to B's water bottle, and started spinning it on the table in front of me. I played with it for ten minutes until our bouncer came back, followed by a man in an expensive suit who was sweating bullets. I slipped it into my pocket.

"Ms. Hale, I just wanted to come over and personally apologize for our lack of security this evening. You're associate has pointed out that you have been photographed by two separate men this evening. I assure you that this is not a common occurrence in my establishment. Please accept my sincere apologies. Dinner of course is on the house."

"Oh, okay. Thanks. And don't worry about it." Rose said, and looked over at the angel sitting next to her.

The corner of her mouth pulled up in a smirk again.

"Hey Alice, are you seeing anyone right now?" B asked. Alice looked up at her, surprised by the random question.

_Please god, don't let her start dating my sister._

"Nope, why?"

"I have this friend that I think would be perfect for you. I'm setting you two up."

Alice beamed at her. "I can't wait! What's his name?"

"That can be the first question you ask him when you meet him," she said with a grin. "Come by the club tomorrow night." Alice nodded excitedly.

"What's this guy like? What does he do? Does he have a criminal record?" I demanded, causing her to look over at me. It was like she was always purposely avoiding looking at me, and I so badly wanted to rip off those big glasses so I could look into her big, gorgeous chocolate-brown eyes.

This time was different though. She smiled. At _me_.

"Don't worry Brother Bear, he's cool. I wouldn't let him near Alice if he wasn't," she said in a gentle voice. I relaxed under her gaze, and nodded to her. She looked away again quickly.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Edward, you really don't need to chaperone," my sister said with an amused smile.

"Yes I do. Do you think she cut it too short? I think it's too short." I was never going to let that psycho woman touch my hair again.

"Your hair looks great, calm down."

I huffed, and then opened the door for her as the car pulled over. She practically sprinted into the building, and I followed closely after her.

B was in her usual spot, and nodded at us as we walked in. Alice bounced over to her.

"Hey Alice."

"Hey B! Is he here?"

"Yup, come on." B took her elbow, and led her over to a booth where there was one man, sitting by himself. He was tall and lean, with sandy blond hair and grey eyes. He stood up and beamed at my sister, not breaking eye contact as he leaned forward and shook her hand.

"Hey, I'm Jasper. It's a pleasure to meet you darlin'."

"Alice," she said, smiling brightly. He gestured for her to have a seat, and she accepted quickly, sliding right up next to him when he sat down.

As soon as I stepped forward to join them, I was stopped by a jolt of electricity that shot through my arm. I looked down in shock, seeing that B had her hand on my elbow, and was leading me away from them.

"Have fun kids," she said over her shoulder. I didn't fight her, I didn't want her to let go of me.

"Really Hollywood, Jasper is a complete gentleman. You have nothing to worry about. Just give them a little privacy."

I looked back over my shoulder, and seeing the smile on my sister's face… I'd never seen her smile like that before, and I didn't want to take that away from her. I nodded, and she let go of me. I sat down next to Emmett, and watched her as she walked back over to her post.

Tonight, I forced myself not to watch her constantly. Just frequently. Baby steps. I found myself having fun though. After a couple hours, Alice and Jasper came over, holding hands, and she introduced him to everyone. Apparently he already knew the others from Emmett's gym though.

He was actually a really cool guy. He worked at the New York Historical Society and Museum, specializing in weaponry of the first and second World Wars. He was twenty-seven, same age as me, and was apparently a fan of mine.

He and Alice barely looked away from each other's eyes for more than a second the entire night. It was kind of intense, but my sister seemed extremely happy.

The five of us got pretty trashed, and didn't even notice the club empty out.

"Hey drunkies. You guys look fucking wasted, so I brought you some sandwiches," B said, popping up out of nowhere, and dropping a giant bag of food on the middle of our table. Emmett and Jasper almost started throwing punches, but were quickly separated by B pinching onto their ears and pulling them apart. "Emmett, I brought you three smoked meats, calm down."

"You take such good care of me," he said, grinning up at her. She gave him an irritated look, and punched him in the arm.

"How are you all getting home tonight?" She asked, glaring at all of us suspiciously.

"Edward and I have a car picking us up, we'll give Jasper a lift," my sister said, leaning into him with a dazed smile. He forgot about the food, grinning back at her.

"I'll call for a cab for us," Emmett mumbled over a mouth full of food.

"Good. Everything's locked up boss, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Beeeeeeeee, stay with us! Hang out for a bit," Rose said with a pout.

"Yeah, why don't you chill for a bit?" I added, my voice sounding too hopeful.

"Sorry Rose, I gotta get back to my man. You know how he gets when he's left waiting," she said with a grin.

What the fuck? _Her man_? She's seeing someone?

Of course she is you idiot, look at her!

I just stared at her in horror, and she gave me an odd look before walking away.

No, I couldn't let her go. Not into the arms of another man. I wouldn't survive the night.

"I'll be right back," I said, but I was ignored by my group as I ran after her. I heard a door close, and chased after the noise, stumbling slightly in the stairwell but catching myself on the railing. I broke through the door, and looked around to find myself in an alley.

"What are you doing?" I spun around at the sound of her voice, and froze.

She was still in her black slacks, but she was wearing a tight leather jacket, straddling a giant black Harley with a shiny helmet tucked under her arm.

That was fucking hot.

"Earth to Hollywood. You okay? You look kind of sick, man."

"What's his name?"

"What?"

"Your boyfriend, what's his name?"

She stared at me in confusion for a long minute, then a grin slowly spread across her face before she laughed. The sound started to calm me. "Are you serious?"

"Completely fucking serious."

She pursed her lips, and then shook her head before pulling a phone out of her pocket. She tapped her screen a few times, and held it out to me. I walked over to her, squinting my eyes at the brightness of the screen.

"Why are you showing me a picture of a dog?"

"This is my man, my baby. His name is Zeus."

I looked at her in shock, my over-reaction replaying through my mind and making me almost sick. She pulled on her helmet, and started up her bike. The roar of the engine bounced off of the brick walls of the alley.

"So you don't have a boyfriend?"

She didn't even bother to answer me, she just waved over her shoulder before thundering out onto the road.

What was wrong with me? I think I needed to start seeing a shrink.

Unfortunately, I locked myself out of the building. I called Alice, and Emmett came down to let me back in.

"What were you doing out here?" He asked suspiciously, blocking my way into the building.

"I just had to ask B something before she left," I said, thrown by the angry look on his face.

"Ask her what?"

"It's doesn't matter Emmett. Jeeze, what's your problem?"

My eyes went wide as he grabbed the collar of my shirt, lifting me off the ground and pulling me up to his face. The anger in his expression made my life flash before my eyes.

"It _does_ fucking matter," he growled. "I think you're a good guy Edward, but I've seen the way you look at her. I'm warning you now, if you ever fucking touch her without her permission, I will fucking _kill_ you."

I held out my arms. "I would never, I swear!"

"Good." He dropped me back on my feet, and it was like a light switch was flipped, and his face was back to his usual goofy smile. "By the way, I ate your sandwiches."

"What! You fucking prick!" He laughed, and we raced each other back up the stairwell of the building. Thankfully my sister took pity on me, and let me have the rest of her sandwich. Turkey with brie cheese, cucumber, and spicy mayo.

Best sandwich of my life.

After the food was gone, we went out to our cars and headed home. When we stopped to drop off Jasper, I walked him out after he pried himself off of my sister. I glared at him as we walked inside. He stopped, and spun to face me in front of the elevator.

"I'm sorry Edward, but I can't apologize for my behavior. I think I'm in love with your sister."

"What?" My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head.

"No, that didn't come out right. I _am_ in love with your sister. She's the most amazing woman in the world, and I'm never going to let her go. I'm going to marry her someday."

He was pleading with me with his drunken eyes, and I couldn't help smiling at the obvious sincerity in his expression. "If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you myself."

"If I ever hurt her, I'd beg you to do it," he said without a second of hesitation. I smiled.

"Later Jasper."

"What did you say to him? Did he say anything to you? Why were you gone so long!" Alice shouted as I slid back into the car. I laughed.

"He seems to really like you," I told her simply. She beamed.

"Oh Edward. I love him. Already, I love him more than I've ever loved anything before. What do I do?"

I smiled at her. I loved my sister, she was the most important person in my life. Seeing her happy made me happier than anything. I couldn't help pulling her into a hug.

"I have no idea Alice," I told her honestly. Really, I was the last person anyone should ask for _love_ advice from. "Just enjoy it I guess? And don't take that happiness for granted."

"Is that a line from one of your movies or something?" She mumbled into my shirt. I laughed.

"No, that's just me."

"I love you Edward."

"Love you too, baby sis."

. . . . . . . . . .

"Hey Tyler."

"Edward! How's it going? Did you read the screen plays I sent you?"

"Yeah, actually. That CIA one's pretty interesting."

"I knew you'd like that one! I'll set up the meeting."

"I'm not saying yes Tyler," I said with a sigh. "It's Marcus Volturi's own script though… I have a few reservations about a few of the scenes. I just want to talk to him, don't go telling him I want to sign." I knew he had a tendency to rush into things. For the thousandth time, I found myself wondering why I was still working with him.

Oh yeah, contract to the end of the year. Only a few more months.

"Seriously Edward? You should be begging him for this part. What sort of fucking reservations could you have on this script? It's the opportunity of a lifetime!"

"Fuck, Tyler, I'm not even looking for work and I'm still fucking considering it!"

"What fucking reservations?" He asked again.

"I'm not comfortable with the boiler room scene."

"Are you fucking serious?" His tone was disbelieving.

"You know I am Tyler, we've been over this before. I'm tired of this shit, I'm trying to move my image into a different direction."

"You love this shit Edward, you're being ridiculous."

"No Tyler, you are. And your contract ends on the thirty-first of December. If I were you, I'd start fucking listening to the person who pays you. I'm willing to talk to him about his script, but that's it right now."

The line was silent for a full minute before I heard him let out his breath in a quiet huff.

"All right… I'll get back to you when I've set up a meeting. Does Riley have a security escort for you, or do you want me to arrange one?"

"What?"

"Security, Edward. Come on, you know you coming back into town will create a scene. Last thing I need is one of your fan girls drugging you up and kidnapping you. Want me to arrange something?"

I grinned. "No, that's okay. I know some people. Just get back to me with a date."

. . . . . . . . .

**What's Emmett's deal? And what's your favourite type of sandwich? **


	4. Chapter 4

**You guys, yes, ****every single one of you people**** are friggen **_**awesome**_**. Thanks for reviewing, following and faving, or just clicking that next button and reading along. You make me feel all sorts of awesome!**

**No club songs this week, because they aren't important. Bond with our BxE's common ground and listen to some Zeppelin. I recommend No Quarter and Kashmir today ;)**

**Are there children lurking? Seriously, cut it out.**

. . . . . . . . . .

It had kind of become a routine, spending Friday nights at the club. I didn't even mind being the fifth wheel, because honestly, my mind stayed in the corner with B most of the time anyways. This was the only time I really got to see her, except for the rare sightings at the gym.

I respected her warning though, and never tried to approach her in the gym again.

I was practically bouncing with excitement when she walked over to our table, and leaned over to whisper something to Emmett who smiled brightly and nodded at her.

"Hey Rose, I've got a meeting to go over some contracts for a new film on Wednesday. My agent wants me to bring down some security though, can you spare anyone for two days?"

I held my breath while my pulse pounded loudly in my ears.

"You should take B, she's knows L.A. Hey B, could you get the time off work?"

She stared at her blankly, not saying anything.

_. . . _

"The pay is pretty great, and all costs will be covered," I threw in, trying to keep my voice casual. I ignored Emmett's dark glares. I get that he was friends with her, but he was being fucking weird.

"You really don't want me to work for you, Hollywood."

"Oh, I'd beg to differ. You're the best there is," I told her truthfully. She smirked.

"I have my own ways of doing things, and that's not going to change. I'm also not going to kiss your ass just because you're paying me."

"Good, I don't want you too," I purred. The entire table was frozen in silence, you could cut through the tension in the air with a knife. B watched me suspiciously for a long minute. My mouth popped open when she spoke.

"Fine. We can go over the details when I'm done work." She turned around and walked away without another word. I spent the rest of the evening smiling, and ignoring Emmett's scowls. The adrenaline kept me up easily until the club closed at three, and I sprang to my feet when B waved me over with a hand.

I followed her through the door behind the bar, down a long white hallway, and through a heavy door. It was a pretty big office, a large stainless steel desk with three laptops and four phones plugged in. A large, black leather sofa, a small bar fridge, a shelf with a fax, scanner, photo copiers, and a wall covered in tall, black filing cabinets.

The only personal items in the room were her leather jacket and helmet that were sitting on the arm of the sofa. There were no pictures, no knickknacks, no fancy pens.

It was very… cold.

She sat down in the chair behind her desk, and gestured for me to take one of the two on the other side, facing her. I complied quickly.

_Don't fucking screw this up._

"Flight times?"

"Tuesday at two, and the flight back is Thursday at three. I already have a second ticket."

"Your meeting times?"

"Wednesday at noon, and possibly another Thursday morning."

"Where will these meetings be taking place?"

"Wednesday they'll take us out to lunch at Elemental, Thursday would just be breakfast at the hotel."

"Which hotel?"

"Chateau Marmont." I think I saw a small frown at that, but she carried on before I could ask about it.

"Have you recently had any threats of bodily harm, or a reason to believe someone may wish you some sort of harm?"

"No."

"So, just your groupies?" She asked with a smirk. I laughed and nodded. "Do you have any health problems?"

"Nope, fit as a fiddle."

"Any allergies?"

"Watermelon."

"Seriously?"

"Yup." She grinned at something as she continued to type away on her laptop furthest on the left. "What?"

"I hate watermelon. It's disgusting, and those seeds are annoying as hell."

I laughed loudly, feeling myself relax completely in my chair. This was the most we'd ever spoken before, and the longest I'd ever spent alone with her.

It was nice.

"How much are you paying me?"

"How's six grand? Three a day."

She nodded. It sounded higher than it was, you had to pay someone well when you were pretty much hiring them as a shield. She obviously already knew the risks of her profession.

That thought stopped me dead in my tracks. What if something happened to her? While she was protecting _me_? I hadn't even thought of the idea of her getting hurt, I just jumped at the chance to steal her away.

"Okay, so I'll come collect you at noon on Tuesday. And I prefer cashier's cheques."

"I can come pick you-"

"I'm watching_ you_ Hollywood, not the other way around. If you want me to do this for you, we're doing it my way. You got that?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, and she sighed. "People get hurt in my line of work, and it's not easy for a lot of men to take me seriously in my field. I need to know that you won't do anything stupid if something happens."

I couldn't even look at her while she said that, so I turned my head and just nodded.

"Not good enough, look me in the eyes and give me your word." I looked over at the harsh tone of her words, and paled at the fiery glare she pierced me with.

"I promise. I'll let you do your job your way, no interference."

"Good. Well, I think that's all then. I'll take care of the transportation." She pulled a black backpack out from under her desk, putting in the laptop she'd been using along with all but one of her phones before zipping it up. "Come on, I'll walk you out."

I followed her out to the main exit, and she stood next to me, silent and watchful, as she waited for my car to arrive.

"You know, you're not on the clock. You can relax."

"I am relaxed right now," she said easily.

I didn't laugh, because I realized then that she was being completely serious. I had never once not seen her like this.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you constantly scanning? Are you just paranoid?" It came out sounding a little rude, but I hadn't meant it that way. I honestly just wanted to know. Luckily, she didn't seem offended.

"You should always be aware of your surroundings. The moment you aren't is the moment you become weak. Vulnerable. I refuse to be either of those things," she said simply. My car pulled up, and I cut her off before she could open my door for me.

This woman was a fucking gentleman.

A gentleman with the nicest ass in the solar system and who smelt like fucking strawberries.

I hesitated before closing my door. "So, can you tell me what B stands for yet?"

Her shoulders seemed to tense slightly, and she turned away. "No. Goodnight."

And just like that, she disappeared around the corner and was gone.

My driver was perfectly silent as he drove me home. He didn't try to distract me from my thoughts once. My mind was spinning around, still trying to absorb the fact that she had agreed to come with me. A goofy smile spread across my face.

I was going to do whatever it took to get this woman to like me, it was obvious that I had no other choice. I couldn't even look at another woman anymore. She was the only thing I wanted.

. . . . . . . . . .

It was hard to believe how much had happened in only a month. I moved back home, mended things with my family, made a couple new friends, gave up on my old ones.

And met _her_.

She was unlike anything else. Her confidence, strength, humour, compassion, loyalty, protectiveness, energy and her beauty. It was too much together like that, she didn't seem real. She wasn't human. I'd known that for a while though. Since the first time I'd seen her, I knew she was a fucking angel. A goddess.

And I would make her mine. I didn't care if it took every day for the rest of my life, she'd be worth it.

I heard the knock on my door at noon sharp, but I was already packed and waiting, and opened the door within seconds.

"Hey." Wow, eloquent. I forced my eyes to stay on her face, only taking in her black slacks and black polo shirt with my peripherals.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, would you like to come in for a bit?"

"No thanks. You need help with your bags?" Always straight to business.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it," I told her with a playful smirk. She just nodded, and stepped back into the hallway so I could walk out and lock the door.

She didn't bother with small talk, not that I was expecting her to. The ride down together alone in the elevator was interesting. I felt like my body was buzzing with an almost electrical awareness of the woman standing beside me. Cool, calm, collected, standing rod straight with her arms crossed in front of her chest and those fucking shades. Most people probably would have found her intimidating, fuck, I still did.

But it was sexy as hell.

I eyed the beautiful, classical truck that was parked out front, my eyes going wide when she walked up to it and unlocked the tail of the covered bed.

"Is this your truck?"

"Of course not, I just thought we'd play a little bit of real life GTA before skipping town." I stared at her wide-eyed, and she shook her head with a slight smile. "She looked more like a piece of scrap metal when I first got her, but I loved her immediately. It's taken a lot of work over the past four years, but I've gotten her into pretty good shape."

"I thought you drove a bike though?"

"I do, but I can't very well carry a suitcase, let alone two on my Harley now, can I?"

I grinned, and slid into the cab. I couldn't help inhaling deeply when I closed my door.

It smelled like her.

"Well, it's a gorgeous truck."

"Thanks." She started her up, and glanced over her shoulder before pulling out onto the road.

"Why didn't you just take a cab?"

"I don't like being driven around," she said simply.

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

"Because I don't trust other drivers."

"It doesn't seem like you trust many things," I speculated.

"I don't." Her tone was short, and it was obvious that she wanted that topic to be finished with. We sat in silence for a long minute at a red light. It wasn't uncomfortable, but I preferred the sound of her voice. I searched for something to say, but she beat me to it. "You mind if I put on some music?"

"Not at all." I wanted to know what she liked besides SOAD. She hit a button on her dash, and it started a CD. I smiled, recognizing the melody instantly. "Led Zeppelin?"

"Yeah, are you a fan?" She asked, with a hint of curiosity.

"Huge fan. I have all of their albums on Vinyl, and even got to go see their tribute concert in London back in 2007. Jason Bonham did drums for his father again, but it was amazing." I got excited just remembering it, and when I looked over at B again she was looking at me with wide-eyed disbelief, and obvious envy while trying to concentrate on the road.

She was silent for a long minute, and I started to grow uneasy.

"Are you shitting me?"

At first I thought she was angry, but she seemed angry most of the time anyways so you can't really blame me. After a moment though, I saw she was just somewhere in between shocked and jealous, and felt myself smile. "Nope."

The big smile that momentarily took over her face was radiant. "Wow. Talk about a chance of a lifetime. They would have been so amazing to see live…" Her face turned thoughtful, and she seemed a bit more relaxed for the rest of the drive. I was incredibly comfortable, or maybe slightly smug would have been a better description. Any man would be, sitting in this awesome classic truck with an incredibly beautiful and captivating woman. Who also had awesome taste in music.

We made it to the airport without incident, and B parked her truck before we took a shuttle over to the terminal. I followed her, and sat next to her on the back bench. Now that I was looking for the signs, I could tell that she looked uncomfortable on the shuttle, her head swiveling around constantly. She seemed to relax slightly when we came to a stop and filed out.

We were processed and boarded quickly, even though B had set off the metal detectors and was taken aside for a few moments, and before I knew it the wheels were starting to pull up over to the run way. B pulled a pack of gum out of her pocket, and popped a piece into her mouth. She held the pack out for me in an offer, and I gladly took it. I hated feeling my ears pop. As soon as the light flashed, letting us know we could take of our belts, B leaned over and pulled a book out of her bag, and opened it up to the marker.

"Whatcha reading?" I sang, leaning over her to see. I straightened back up quickly when she flinched away from the proximity.

She _flinched_.

"Sorry, I-"

"Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies," she said quickly, cutting me off. There was a hint of barely concealed anger in her voice.

"What?" Her words caught me by surprise. She closed the book to show me the cover while simultaneously shifting away from me in her seat. Sure enough, the title was just as I had heard. "Is it any good?"

She shrugged. "It's not bad. I don't really have the patience to read the same book twice, so this one is riding the line of annoying me."

I laughed, for some reason I didn't find this very surprising. She seemed like the type to be easily annoyed. When I opened my eyes and grinned at her, she was looking at me curiously, but quickly went back to her book. A sharp pain went through my stomach.

"Hey, I'm sorry I-"

"Just respect my personal space Hollywood, and I'll respect yours. Drop it."

_I don't want you to respect my personal space, I want you to live in it._ "Okay."

I spent the next five hours in guilty silence, watching out of the corner of my eye while she flipped through her book at an intimidating speed. Was she actually reading the pages? She finished her book an hour before the flight finished, and spent the rest of the ride staring blankly at the chair in front of her, holding the book in her lap. Her watch beeped at five to seven, and she put away her book, put back on her pair of sunglasses, and did up her belt thirty seconds before the pilot announced we were approaching the airport, and asked the passengers to fasten their seat belts.

It was a little eerie.

The plane landed, and my body guard's mood flipped like switch. She was scanning the crowds as she shadowed closely behind me, and led us easily out of the airport. Once again, even though it was getting dark, she kept on those damn shades. She walked right up to a large man standing next to a sleek, black BMW. I glared at the man as he leaned in and whispered something into her ear. She nodded, took the keys from him, and didn't give him a second look as he disappeared into the crowd of people.

There were people taking pictures of me, but not a single person approached me. I noticed a lot of them eying B uncomfortably, but ignored it. It was a bit of a relief to be honest. She gestured for me to put my bag beside hers in the trunk, and then walked me over to my door while watching the crowd. After I closed the door behind me, she seemed to just appear on the other side of the car and slid into her seat.

"Nice ride."

"Had to get something suitable for Mr. Hollywood's social status," she said teasingly, making me grin.

I had to admit, I gripped onto the oh-shit handle bar like my life depended on it while she drove like a psycho through Hollywood. It seemed like she knew her way around, getting us to the hotel with ease, and without a GPS. She pulled up, and ran around to my door as I stepped out, and was close to my side as the doorman took our bags and she tossed the keys to the valet.

"One scratch, and you're a dead man," she told the young guy with a menacing smile. He just stared, open mouthed at her while she walked us inside.

"Edward! Dude, this is so cool, can I-"

B appeared in between us, blocking my path before the guy could grab me. She grabbed onto his outstretched arm, and used it to spin him around. "What the fuck, let go of me bitch! What's your problem?"

She whispered something to him, and I saw him freeze, and his face paled. When she let go of him, he bolted out of the area. She was back by my side in another second, leading me inside.

"What did you say to him?" I asked curiously.

"I explained how rude it was to walk up and invade someone's personal space, and how easy it is to disconnect a shoulder."

I laughed, and shook my head as she led the way to the counter. I couldn't help ogling that round ass as she knelt over the counter and talked quickly and quietly to the receptionist. Within seconds she had our key, and led us over to the elevator, taking the bag trolley away from the bellhop.

She didn't bat an eyelash at the large suite we went into, dropping her bag, pulling out some black device that looked similar to a large Blackberry, and quickly scouted the room.

"What are you doing?"

She held up a hand for me to be quiet, walked around the couch while staring at the screen, then backtracked quickly. She dropped down onto the floor, sliding underneath the coffee table, and came back out with a proud smile on her face. She placed something on the table, signalling for me to remain quiet with a finger over her lips, and went back to playing Star Trek landing party. I followed curiously. She pulled something out of the lampshade beside each of the beds, the washroom on the back of the toilet, and then the kitchen underneath one of the cupboards. She gathered the five little silver things similar to the size of a quarter, then walked out onto the balcony and placed them into an ashtray outside. She came back in and locked the thick glass door.

"Are those what I think they are?"

"Microphones," she said with a nod. She held out the black thing for me to look at. "It picks up on radio waves. If something is transmitting a wireless signal, this little baby will pick up on it in seconds."

"Why would they bug my room?"

"Come on Hollywood, do you really need to ask that? I bet this place misses having your face on all their magazines." She grabbed her bag and walked it over to the couch, where she sat down and pulled out her laptop. She seemed to withdraw into her own bubble, and I watched her for a few seconds before bringing my bag over to my room and unpacking my things. When I came back out, she was typing away on her phone.

She wasn't wearing her shoes anymore, and I grinned when I saw her bright purple socks. I wasn't expecting that, but it looked fucking adorable.

"Your agent will be meeting us here at eleven, and I'll drive the three of us to the restaurant afterwards. The meeting should be about three hours. Do you have anything else you want to do tomorrow?"

"Like what?"

She looked at me strangely. "Like whatever you want to do. I'm here to follow you, but if possible I would like to have some forewarning of your plans."

"No, just the meeting." I dropped down onto the couch across the coffee table from hers.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I hate this city. I just want to do this thing and go home." The words came out before I even thought about them, proximity to this woman messed with my head. She didn't question me though, and only nodded. I started thumbing through the manuscript again, highlighting issues I had with it to go over. My mind was somewhere else though, praying for the universe not to throw Tanya in my path while I was down here.

"Are you hungry?" Her spontaneous question surprised me, but at the mention of food my stomach growled loudly. "I'll take that as a yes. What do you want?"

"I'm not picky." I wanted to take her out to a restaurant or something, but quickly remembered her apparent aversion to them. I was expecting her to call for room service, but she just walked into the kitchen. I listened to the sound of things being moved around, and walked over curiously. She was putting pots on the stove, and pulling things out of the fridge. I watched as she threw some butter and spices into a sauce pan, and poured a pile of flour onto the counter. She made a well in it, cracked some eggs into it, then started whisking it with a fork. She flitted back and forth from her saucepan to her eggs and flour on the counter, and I pulled up a stool to watch. I didn't say anything; I was too stunned and entertained. I was not expecting this. She didn't seem like the kitchen type. I let her work in silence, supervising with a smile.

It took me a little while to realize that she was making pasta, from _scratch_. She made a pink sauce with mushrooms and peppers, and diced up cooked chicken to throw in. I was practically drooling by the time she put the giant plate of food in front of me, then started cleaning things.

"Oh my god, this is fucking delicious," I mumbled over a mouth full of pasta. I saw one of her rare smiles before she thanked me. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Yeah, in a sec." I felt bad letting her wash dishes after making this for me, but putting down my fork was an impossible act. I finished every last bite, licking the plate afterwards. She sat down on the opposite side of the table from me, an equally large plate in front of her.

It was hard not to stare. It was a refreshing thing to see a woman with a healthy appetite. I had worried for a moment that she might have been shy to eat in front of me or something equally ridiculous, but I was obviously wrong. She inhaled her plate of food quickly. I couldn't help smiling, there was something about her when she ate that reminded me a bit about Emmett.

I threw on a t-shirt and a pair of grey flannel pyjama pants before dropping back down on the couch in the living room and turning on the TV. B came out of the kitchen a minute later, took a quick glance at me, and went to go sit out on the balcony with her phone. I could see the dim light from the screen softly lighting up that beautiful face in the dark. I tried not to frown, and forced myself not to go out and join her.

Baby steps.

. . . . . . . . . .

I woke up on the couch the next morning to the sound of a door closing, and something that sounded oddly like paper being crumpled up. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking at the front door. B was just coming in, wearing a pair of tight black yoga pants and a baggy grey t-shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her shirt was soaked, her cheeks flushed an alluring shade of pink.

"Hey sleeping beauty. You're up."

"Where'd you go off to?"

"Running," she said simply, disappearing down the hall and closing a door. I stretched and sat up. I may have slept on the couch, but it was the best night's sleep I'd had in months. I didn't even remember grabbing the blanket I was covered in before falling asleep. I looked down at my watch, and saw that it was only six in the morning.

What the fuck? Did this woman even sleep? I heard the shower turn on, and had to adjust the uncomfortable bulge in my pants.

_Get your shit together man. You are not going to go jerk it with her in the other room. _

I went over to my room, and dropped down into my bed while I waited for her to finish. Saliva pooled in my mouth when I jumped into the shower after her. The whole fucking room smelt like strawberries.

I came back out to find her in her usual black slacks and a dark blue blouse, her hair wrapped up into a neat bun. I hadn't seen her wearing her usual 'uniform' in this bright of light before, the color complimented her complexion beautifully. It took me a minute to realize I was staring.

"Your agent won't be here for two hours, you hungry?"

"Not really, I'm not a big breakfast person. Thanks."

"Your loss." She got up, and went over to the kitchen. I sat in front of the TV, and half an hour later she came over with a fucking plate of bacon, and what looked like a large pink smoothie. She dropped down in the chair next to mine, putting her stuff on the table between us, and opened up her laptop. She shoved two pieces of bacon in her mouth, and her delicate fingers started flying over the keyboard.

Fuck. She was amazing.

My gaze kept flickering between the TV, her, and the place of bacon in front of me. I kind of regretted my choice, it smelt fucking awesome.

I saw her smile in my peripherals. She never looked at me, but spoke as though she had caught my eyes on the plate of salty goodness.

"Help yourself Hollywood."

"You sure?" She nodded, taking a big drink of her smoothie without looking away from her screen. "Thanks."

I inhaled the rest of her food, but she didn't seem to mind.

"What are you working on?"

"Work stuff," she mumbled vaguely.

"What're you drinking?"

"Strawberry-banana smoothie."

"Is it good? It looks good."

She looked up at me, and I was a bit taken aback by the emotions in her eyes. She looked so angry, but… there was something incredibly sad about it. She was arguing with herself about something, I could see it in those big, beautiful eyes, before she took a deep breath. "Yup. Want one?"

_Yes._ "No thanks." She sighed, got up, and walked over to the kitchen. She came back two minutes later with another smoothie and set in down in front of me without a word before she started typing again.

"How did you get that restraining order on James to go through so quickly?" I really didn't want her to stop talking. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get the chance to spend time like this with her again. I only had one solid day with her and I'll be damned if I was going to waste the opportunity to get her to talk to me.

"I know some people," she said simply. I frowned, nodding when she didn't elaborate. We sat in silence until there was a knock on the door. I got up to answer it, and the look she shot me had me sitting back down quickly.

"Mr. Crowley."

"Who are you?" I heard Tyler ask in a surprised tone.

"Mr. Cullen's security for the duration of his trip." I couldn't help but smile, that had to be the closest she'd ever come to saying my name.

God, I would love to hear her voice say my name. The two of them came around the corner, B wearing her black sunglasses again, and Tyler took a seat next to me. B sat down on the other couch, and pretended to be invisible. It didn't look like she was listening, but I was smart enough to know better. She sat silently while we talked for half an hour, before telling us that we needed to leave for our meeting. I saw Tyler ogling her ass as we walked behind her to the elevator, and smacked him in the back of his head. He grinned mischievously at me, unabashed.

I couldn't really blame him, but it still pissed me off.

The car was waiting outside for us, and B was scanning silently as she waited for me to get in. As soon as my door closed, she was walking around and coming in her door. She made her way easily to the restaurant, tossing her keys to the valet without a word and standing next to my door as I got out. Tyler was watching her with an amused smile.

"Seriously? You hired a girl for security?" He asked. "I get that she's hot, but come on."

The slight tensing of her posture let me know that she heard his every word, but she said nothing. I made sure she'd hear me easily as I spoke.

"Shut the fuck up Tyler. I only hire the best, and she's the fucking best. I've seen her beat the shit out of men more than twice her size without breaking a sweat. And she doesn't draw unwanted attention."

"Seriously?" He checked her out again curiously. I punched him in the arm. "OW! What the fuck Edward?"

"Stop being an asshole," I growled, and followed B inside.

She was trying to hide a smile, and that completely flipped my mood.

"Reservation for Mr. Cullen and Mr. Volturi," she said, approaching the Maître D.

"Ah, yes ma'am, I'm afraid that there was a slight mix up with the table-"

"Unacceptable. He will have the table I requested," she stated firmly.

"I'm sorry but-"

"Shut up." His eyes went wide as she took out her phone and brought it up to her ear.

"Really B, it's-"

"Shh." She waved me off, and the three of us watched her, surprised, as she whispered into the phone too quietly for me to hear her words. She hung up quickly, crossing her arms, and just watched the host patiently.

A minute later a man in an expensive suit rushed out. He whispered into the host's ear, and the man paled before running away.

"I'm so sorry for my employee's lack of intelligence Mr. Cullen. Please, follow me to your table."

I honestly wasn't surprised by this point, but Tyler was gaping at her, looking a little intimidated as we walked into the restaurant. The owner, Benjamin he said his name was, sat us down at a large private table in the corner, and B immediately stood behind the chair in the corner, sitting down after we did. I'm pretty sure I saw the guy wink at her before he left.

It reminded me of the dinner with Rose and Kate, her taking the corner seat. It clicked then, why she was so insistent on her requested table, why she didn't like restaurants. I should have seen it earlier.

She didn't like being surrounded.

We ordered drinks, well Tyler and I did, while we waited for the others. They came in barely a minute after our drinks arrived.

"Edward! Nice to see you!" Marcus greeted enthusiastically, pulling me into a hug.

"You too, thanks for considering me," I said, sitting back down next to him. He looked around out table, and I saw his eyes go wide when they landed on her.

"B?"

"Hey Mac," she said, a slight smirk on her lips. I looked between them in shock.

"You guys know each other?" How the hell would he know her? I caught her give him an odd look, shaking her head slightly, and he nodded once. What the fuck?

"Yeah, we go way back," he said with a soft smile, and I swear she rolled her eyes behind her glasses. "Okay, so let's get down to work. What did you think of my manuscript?"

"Loved it, it looks amazing," I told him honestly.

"I was hoping you'd say that. You're the first person I thought of for this role. So you're in?"

"Edward has a few conditions before accepting any contracts," Tyler said quickly. Marcus' mouth twitched up.

"And what would those be?"

"No sex scenes. I don't care if you want to use a body double, but I don't want to do that." My eyes flickered over to B, but she wasn't looking at me. Marcus thought about it for a moment before nodded to himself.

"That's easily doable actually. Anything else?"

"Just a few questions about the script," I said, relieved. He still wanted me. The three of us ordered lunch, I wasn't surprised that B didn't get anything. Not when she was in full-blown work mode like this. She sat there silently while the three of us ate, drank, and went over the script. I went over a the few questions I had, and we discussed the other actors he was considering for some of the other roles, along with the time frame he had in mind for filming.

Three hours later, he had me agreeing to do the movie.

"Excellent," he said, patting his swollen stomach. "So, my assistant will come by the hotel tomorrow with the contracts for you to sign. We'll be in touch." He shook my hand, and it looked like he was about to hug B, but stopped himself before getting close to her. He pulled a small notepad out of his pocket, writing something down, before ripping off the page, folding it, and handing it to her with a wink. She grinned at him, and gave him one small nod. After one more surprisingly gentle smile for her, he gave us a wave before walking out. After I finished my scotch, we left.

"So? Where to?" Tyler asked excitedly.

"What do you mean?"

"We need to celebrate man! This movie is going to be huge!"

"Thanks, but I'm just going to head back to the hotel."

"Dude, are you still beating yourself up about her? You need to just-"

"Shut up Tyler. You don't know what you're fucking talking about," I hissed. The intense wave of anger dissolved instantly, replaced by a soothing buzzing of electric energy when B reached out and put a gentle hand on my arm. I took a deep breath, relaxing back into my seat, and her hand went back to the steering wheel.

How the fuck did she do that?

"Sorry Tyler, I just really don't have any more patience for this city. We'll celebrate with the others at the casting party, whenever they have it."

"It's okay man. Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know, just drop it."

B dropped him off at his house outside of town, and then started to make the way back to the hotel. It was really quiet for a little while. I was embarrassed by my outburst in front of her, and didn't know what to say.

She spoke first.

"You okay Hollywood?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"It's cool. Want to talk about it?"

"Why, you want to hear about it?" I spat defensively. It was more so out of habit, and I regretted it immediately, but she didn't even flinch from my harsh tone. I was usually the one asking questions, it was weird hearing them from her.

She pushed her sunglasses back into her hair, finally not hiding her beautiful eyes from me any longer. "I'm not into the whole gossip thing, and your business is your own. If you feel like talking, I'll listen though." Her voice was gentle, and I was surprised by the small smile she offered me.

Did I want to talk to her about this?

Yes, I really did. I'd never wanted to talk about what Tanya had done before, but right now, I had this sudden urge to just let it out. I wanted to tell _her_.

And I wanted her to know me.

"I was dating this actress named Tanya a few months ago." She nodded, and waited patiently for me to continue. She wasn't asking for details, it seemed like she really did just want to let me talk. The words just started pouring out. "I wasn't in love with her or anything, she was hot, but she was a cold-hearted fucking bitch. Things had been okay at first, but after a while… I had been thinking about breaking things off, but then she told me she was pregnant. I was pissed at first, but once I calmed down and thought about it… I got really excited. The idea of being a father started to sound really awesome. So, I did the right thing, and asked her to marry me. She said yes. I woke up the next morning and she was gone, she disappeared for five fucking days. I thought she'd been kidnapped or killed, I had every cop in fucking LA looking for her, and then one morning she just fucking showed up. She wouldn't answer me when I asked her where she went. She wouldn't even let me speak. She told me the baby wasn't mine, and that she had an abortion. She didn't want to jeopardize her career or body, but said she'd still marry me. I kicked her out of my house, and put it on the market the next day. Packed a few bags and moved into a hotel because I couldn't stand to look at my own house. I hired people to pack up my shit and put it in storage, and as soon as I finished filming I moved back home. I had given up too much for her, which was no one's fault but my own, but being so close to having a family and just having it disappear, made me realize just how much I missed mine. So I moved back to New York to be closer to them. I couldn't stand the idea of staying in this hell hole for another second. Just being in this fucking town, I knew if I saw her, I'd probably fucking kill her."

I relaxed against my seat, surprised with how liberating it felt to actually tell someone the whole story. B didn't say anything, but I was kind of glad. I didn't want any sympathy.

I was surprised when she pulled up in front of a grocery store instead of the hotel.

"You coming in with me or do you want to sit in the car?"

"What?" She looked at me, not wanting to repeat herself I guess. "Oh, I guess I'll come in." She nodded, and I followed her silently as she grabbed a cart. I wasn't sure what she was doing. She bought a big pack of toilet paper, a couple steaks, a couple cartons of eggs, two large grapefruits, paper lunch bags, bungee cords, two giant wicker baskets, and a chocolate cheesecake. She didn't say a word to me as she brought her stuff up the checkout and paid. She wouldn't let me carry any of her bags.

No one swarmed me, or even approached us, though they watched. The way that she walked, the way she held her head and shoulders, all determined and slightly intimidating, just shouted not to fuck with her. I still found it impressive, but at the same time, it didn't really intimidate _me_ personally anymore. I just thought her confidence was hot as fuck.

"What are you doing?"

She didn't say anything, but pulled over next to a park.

"Can you wait here? I need fifteen minutes."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

She hopped out of the car, and I listened as she rummaged around in the trunk for ten minutes. She sprinted into the park with one of the grocery bags, and came back two minutes later, putting it back in the trunk.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"You'll see."

She drove out of town to a more suburban area, and pulled up in front of a house. She looked at me for a minute, looking for something in my face, and then gave me a bright smile.

"I suggest you take out your camera, you might want to remember this." She hopped out of the car, leaving the engine running, and opened up the trunk. She walked up, picking the lock on the gated driveway, and opened the doors to about a meter wide. She shoved a grapefruit under each panel of the gate, wedging them in place. She grabbed her two baskets out of the trunk, one was filled with eggs, the other rolls of toilet paper. There was a bungee cable on each handle of each basket, and she attached them to the gates. My eyes went wide as she took a giant paper bag out of the trunk, closed it, and then ran up to the front door. She lit the bag on fire, sprinted back to the gate, and pulled back the basket of toilet paper rolls. When she released it, the rolls went soaring, landing all over the trees, the lawn, the shrubs. She didn't hesitate an instant before doing the same thing with the basket of eggs, and even from this distance I could easily hear the large scattered cracks of them landing all over the expensive Cadillac and the front of the house. She bolted back into the car and shut the door.

"B, what the fuck-"

"Shut up, just watch," she hissed, and I looked back at the door the second Tanya walked out. She screamed, and stomped on the burning paper bag. She froze, looking down at what looked like a giant pile of shit of her designer boots, and looked at her front yard in horror, her face beat red.

Somehow, I did manage to snap a picture though my crying laughter, before B sped off down the street.

"Did that seriously just happen?" I gasped, clutching at my side. She was smiling silently next to me in her seat while she drove. "That was fucking amazing! How did you even know where she lived?"

"I have my ways," she said vaguely. I laughed again. "Do you feel a bit better?"

I fucking loved her idea of comfort. "Yeah, I do actually. Thank you for that, you didn't need to do that for me."

"Don't mention it."

"What were the steaks and cheesecake for?" She didn't throw them.

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "Dinner. Did you really think I'd waste a fucking rib-eye on _her_?"

I burst into laughter again, and was grinning the entire drive back to the hotel.

. . . . . . . . . .

**So, I'm hoping by now you're starting to see that Edward isn't really such a bad guy. He just has some bad habits that he's working to break away from. And I know a few of you have thought B was coming off as pretty harsh, but just like everyone else, she has her own demons. She's not all bad though. Don't be too hard on her.**

**Have you ever played a prank on someone before? **

**So, just out of curiosity, is B's story something you'd be interested in reading? I've only had one person express any interest in it. PM me or something? I would love to hear from you!  
-Kitty**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay lovelies. Shit's gonna get real. I love you. Reviews are like chocolate. I really, really like chocolate. Like, a lot. **

**Kids, I told you to get out of here. Seriously dudes, there was a content warning on the first chapter and everything.**

**SM owns Twilight. I know that, you know that, but I'm afraid to not write it down. Not trying to infringe. **

**No music. **

. . . . . . . . . .

I woke up at six again the next morning to the sound of the door closing. She must have been coming back from a run, but I couldn't greet her with the early morning tent in my pants. I stayed in my bed, staring up at the ceiling while I listened to the sound of the water running.

Her hair would be down, she couldn't shower with that fucking bun in her hair. I felt my hand slipping into my pants as I tried to picture what she'd look like with her hair down, stopping myself when the shower shut off.

I groaned and rolled over onto my side, burying my face in my pillow. What the fuck was wrong with me?

I made my way into the washroom when I heard the door to her room close, relieving myself before hopping in the shower. After I got dressed, I went out to find her sitting on the couch, talking on her phone.

"I don't fucking care how hard it is, get me that fucking footage Paul." Pause. "Because I want to fucking see it for myself! Get it done, you owe me and you fucking know it." She hung up, whipping her phone angrily at the couch across from hers.

"Everything okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"Fucking dandy," she growled, not looking up at me. She pinched the bridge of her nose while closing her eyes for a minute, and took a deep, slow breath before relaxing. "Sorry. I didn't hear you come out. You shouldn't have heard that."

"I don't mind," I said, dropping down onto the couch and tossing her phone back onto her couch. I tended to yell at people on the phone too. "You take your job too seriously B, you can make fucking phone calls, I don't care." She didn't say anything. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. But thanks." I nodded, and looked at her closely. She seemed kind of tired today, but still looked hot as hell. She was wearing her black pants, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket. And that stupid fucking bun.

"Why do you always wear your hair up?"

I seemed to catch her by surprise. "Huh?"

"You always have your hair up in that damn bun. Why don't you ever wear it down?"

"It's harder to grab onto like this. Professional hazard," she said in an obvious tone.

"Oh, okay."

"What, you don't like my hair?" she asked teasingly.

"I didn't say that, but I know you'd look even more fucking gorgeous if you wore it down." Fuck, god damn word vomit. I didn't seem to make her uncomfortable though, she just laughed.

"Man, you're good Hollywood, I have to give you that." I looked up at her in surprise as she walked out of the room, shaking her head with a small smirk.

What? Did she actually think I was joking?

She came back out ten minutes later, pulling her small suitcase along behind her and leaving it by the front door. She packed up her laptop and left the bag with her other one.

"We should head out within the next ten minutes, are you packed?"

"Almost, I'll just take a minute," I said, kind of annoyed as I walked back out to my room. I shoved my things unceremoniously into my bag before dragging it back out. Why couldn't she see how much I fucking liked her? Every compliment I gave her, she just brushed off like a fucking joke. Did she not realize how fucking out of character this was for me? Can she not see that I haven't been able to have a good fuck in over a month because she's the only fucking thing I can think about?

"_Mmm_, _oh god_," she moaned, freezing me in my tracks. The sound alone already had me hard. What the fuck? I followed the sound into the kitchen, and she was leaning over the counter, dragging her finger through the cheesecake, then wrapping her red lips around said finger and slowly pulling it out of her mouth.

I think I might have actually growled.

"Dude, this cheesecake is fucking amazing, you have to try it. I completely forgot about it last night."

I adjusted my pants inconspicuously before making my way over. I followed her lead, scooping some up on my finger, and licking it off.

"Fuck."

"I know right?" She hummed happily after trying some more.

This had to be the most arousing thing I'd ever seen in my life. I wanted to rip off her clothes, rub the chocolate all over her body and lick it off again.

I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

Her watch beeped, and she sighed, looking at the cake longingly. I knew that beep meant we had to go, and I followed behind her as she made her way over to the door.

She sat with Tyler, Marcus' assistant and I while we went over our contracts. I even got a corner table for her, not thinking she'd be comfortable in the one Tyler had chosen in the center of the room. She didn't say a word, but my eyes kept flickering to her every few seconds. I noticed when she checked her phone that her entire body seemed to tense, almost like she had stopped breathing. She watched her screen intently, and her hands started shaking slightly before she started clicking away furiously on her blackberry.

"You okay B?"

She looked up at me in surprise, and then put away her phone, her expression unreadable.

"Yeah."

I nodded, watching her worriedly for another moment before going back to the paperwork. If she didn't want to talk to me, she wouldn't. It was as simple as that, there was nothing I could do.

The rest of the morning went by well, B threw around a couple of overly eager fans with a bit more hostility than usual, but I didn't say anything. She barely spoke a word for the entire day. Even on the plane, she didn't read, she just sat there staring into nothing with a slightly lost yet tense look in her eyes. She was so distracted that she even set off the metal detectors again. I couldn't take seeing her like this.

"Okay, seriously, I'm sorry for prying again, but what's up with you today? What happened on your phone?"

She acted like she didn't hear a word I said, but right when I opened my mouth to push, she spoke. "There's someone that I've been looking for, for a while. One of my contacts said they saw someone matching his description outside of New York. I just got the surveillance footage, and it turns out it _was_ him."

"Why were you looking for him?"

"Sorry Inquisitor, I don't feel like playing twenty-fucking-questions." She looked over to the side, away from me, and I noticed then that her hands were balled up into tight fists, her knuckles white from the tension.

I was lucky, and honestly, pretty damn surprised she had even answered one of my questions.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to push," I said regretfully. She seemed to slump in her chair slightly, whether she was relaxing or just lost her energy I'm not quite sure, but still didn't look at me.

"Don't worry about it."

I got more and more tense the closer we got to NY. What was I supposed to do when we got back? Would she go back to ignoring me? Would she talk to me? Were we friends now or something?

What if she didn't want to hang out with me?

I was practically vibrating in worry as she drove me to my apartment.

"Hey B?"

"Yeah?"

Fuckfuckfuckfuck just fucking say it.

"Do you think we could like, hang out some time?"

"Why?" She asked, not missing a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you want to hang out with me Hollywood? I can tell you right now that I'm not going to sleep with you." I gaped at her for a moment, but composed myself quickly.

"I think you're cool. I bet you'd be even more fun to hang out with if you weren't working."

I watched her face carefully, but her expression was blank. I held my breath.

"I'll think about it."

I mentally pumped my fist. I was an optimist.

"Okay." I was surprised by how calm my voice came out sounding. She pulled up in front of my building, and stepped out to unlock the back of her truck. "I'm going to come by the club tomorrow, try not to ignore me," I said with a playful smirk. I would have bet money that she rolled eyes.

"I'll stop ignoring you if you stop staring at me all the time and trying to distract me," she said with a knowing smile.

She knew?

"I see everything in that bar Hollywood. Don't ever forget that."

She walked back into her truck, driving away without a second glace. I couldn't help my big grin.

. . . . . . . . . .

I'm not sure what I had been expecting, walking into the club the next night. It was more than a slight nod, but that's all she gave me. Her greeting to my sister was much warmer, Alice skipped over to her and hugged her tightly. B smiled, giving her a light squeeze and whispering something to her. My sister nodded, and B grinned before shooing her away. I went and sat down at our usual table with the others.

"Finally! I thought you guys would never show up," Rose said in an irritated tone. I looked at her curiously, and she smiled before looking up at Emmett.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked curiously. I noticed B walking over, a knowing smile on her face as she looked at the two of them.

"We're getting married!" Emmett shouted.

Alice screamed.

"Oh my god! Seriously!? When did you ask her? Why am I only hearing about this _now_?" Alice cried. Jasper wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple affectionately.

"On Monday, we just wanted to wait until you guys were all together before we told any of you," Rose said happily.

"_She_ knew," I said with a grin, nodding to B behind her. Rose looked up and beamed at her.

"Of course she did, I knew better than to try and pick out a ring by myself," Emmett joked, grinning at her too. I was once again struck by how weird the relationship between the three of them was. B rolled her eyes, but there was something very forced about the calm expression she wore, and walked away again without a word. I followed her with my eyes to see her peeling a guy off of the bar, he was arguing loudly with the bartender, and looked about ready to dive over high top.

The five of us got completely tanked on at least as many bottles of champagne, listening to them tell us about how Emmett proposed, and their plans for the ceremony. Rose asked Alice to be a bridesmaid. They wanted to have a fall wedding, and were planning for the fourth of October.

Their excitement was contagious, and I couldn't help watching them with a happy smile. At the same time though, it made me feel… empty. Sitting here with these two couples who were so obviously in love. I looked back over at B, and like she felt my gaze, which she probably had, she actually looked over at me. She attempted to give me a smile, but it came out as more of an awkward grimace, and I spat out my champagne from laughing so hard, much to my sister's horror. At least I didn't hit her with my spray.

She was actually trying though. Despite not wanting to sleep with me, and apparently being aware of my stalker-like tendencies, she was trying to be nice to me. I'm pretty sure this was her version of being nice. I was fucking ecstatic.

I wondered if she'd go to the wedding? Maybe she'd wear her hair down.

Or even wear a fucking dress.

I grinned, it would probably be more likely seeing her come in a tux with a shaved head.

. . .

"Hey Rose, things are all locked up, I'm heading home." She had a habit of just Apparating beside our table when I drank. Yeah, I read the Harry Potter books. They were fucking cool. B looked different tonight though, fucking gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but she looked exhausted. Even in the dim lighting of the club, I could tell that there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Thanks sweetie."

"We still up for lunch tomorrow?" Alice asked excitedly. Shit, Alice had her phone number, maybe she could help me out…

"Yeah, of course. Night guys." My heart soared when she gave me a small smile before she turned.

I watched her walk away, and felt the weirdest twinge in my stomach. Something didn't feel right. Emmett was watching me closely though, so I didn't go after her.

Five minutes passed though, I was starting to just feel sick. I said good night to the others, and went outside to catch a cab.

It was oddly silent out, and I looked at my watch to see it was almost four in the morning. Fuck, no wonder I was so tired.

The silence was broken by an odd ripping sound. I didn't even think as I walked around the corner, following the noise. My feet sped up when I heard this sickening thumping sound, and something similar to a muffled voice maybe.

I froze, my blood running cold from what I saw in the alley in front of me. B was there, with two large men. One was standing behind her, gripping her right arm with one hand and had his other arm wrapped around her neck. His nose was bleeding heavily, and it looked like he was missing a tooth. B's legs were thrashing around underneath her, not touching the ground.

Her left arm was hanging limply, and a little oddly, by her side.

The second man was standing in front of her, partially blocking my view of her. I caught the glint of sliver though as he trailed the knife between her breasts and down her stomach. Her shirt had been cut open.

I didn't think, it was as if I blinked and then I was suddenly there, breaking a glass bottle over his head. In the same second, the other man dropped B, but she sprang at him. My guy was unconscious, and I watched, frozen, as she tackled the other guy to the ground, rolling him over with a knee to the ribs, and dropped down on him.

There was obviously something wrong with her left arm, but not her right. She pounded into the guy's face in some sort of crazed frenzy, and I had to peel her off of him. It wasn't easy.

_"Let me go! I'm going to fucking kill them!"_ She screeched, struggling to get away from me.

"I know you are! I'm trying to keep you out of prison! Shut the fuck up and look at me B!"

I spun her in my arms, and she was staring back at me with black eyes. It didn't look like she really saw me. There was nothing but rage in her eyes, and it was kind of terrifying.

"B? Can you hear me? Are you alright?" I smoothed my thumb over her lip, wiping away some blood, and that seemed to snap her out of her haze. She pushed me away, hard, then looked down at the two guys. She stared at them angrily for two long minutes, her chest rising and falling heavily with her laboured deep breathing, shaking before she turned and looked at me.

"Take my arm."

"What?"

"Take my fucking arm. Put both of your hands on my wrist, tight." She turned her limp arm towards me, and sudden understanding filled me.

"I don't think I can-"

She sighed irritably, and walked over to her bike parked in the back of the alley. I followed after her as she settled her left arm on the seat of her bike, and slowly started kneeling onto the ground with a strained yet determined expression on her face.

"Shit, wait, we can just-"

I flinched at the horrible crunching sound, and watched, feeling sick as she carefully moved around her arm. She ignored me as she pulled something out of her saddle bag and walked over to the two unconscious guys, zip tying their hands behind their backs. She picked her jacket up off of the ground by the door and pulled out her phone.

"Hey, I need you by the club. Now." Pause. "These two assholes attacked some girl in the alley beside my building, found them when I was grabbing the bike. They're unconscious. I need you to come get them." Pause. "Thanks." Pause. "No, I'm leaving, they're out cold though. Thanks man."

She hung up the phone as I walked over to her, and I rolled over the guy I had knocked out with my foot to see his face.

It was James.

"Don't say a word to Alice," she hissed, and walked back to the side door of the building, picking up her helmet gingerly before going through her keys with trembling, bloody hands. I followed closely after her, and she spun to look at me when she heard me next to her. Her mouth was still bleeding, her ripped shirt hanging open showing a black, lacy bra. I was more distracted by the long, bloody scratch going down her stomach though. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not leaving you alone."

"Listen Gladiator, I don't need you to-"

"I doubt even _you_ could beat me up right now B. I'm not leaving you. Deal with it."

She watched me for a long minute, then turned away without a word.

The others were gone, and I watched her as she walked over to the bar, grabbed a bottle of vodka, then walked through the door behind the bar and down the hallway to her office. She slammed the bottle down on her desk, washed her hands in a sink in the corner of the room, then pulled a red bag out of one of her filing cabinets before carefully sitting in her desk chair. I sat down on the couch, watching her carefully.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

She pulled off her shirt, not seeming bothered by my watchful gaze, then pulled on a pair of gloves from the bag. I tried not to stare at the angry pink scar that went over her hip and disappeared below the waist of her pants. If I wasn't so concerned with the dangerous paleness of her face I might have spent a bit more attention to what a fuckawesome body she had. I already knew she worked out like crazy though. She pulled off her belt, and took a very, very long swig of the bottle before biting onto her leather, and poured the liquor over her stomach. She was breathing heavily when she put the bottle back down, but kept the belt in her mouth, as she started cleaning her stomach. I had to look away because her calmness and the whole surrealism of the situation was freaking my drunk self right-the-fuck-out. She was being too damn calm right now, shouldn't she be the one freaking out? I felt fucking useless sitting here.

"B, just let me take you to the hospital, this can't be-"

"I don't do hospitals, no fucking doctor is touching me," she hissed around the belt. I looked away again as she used some sort of glue stuff to go over the cut on her stomach.

I heard her move around a couple minutes later, and she was wearing a baggy t-shirt and a different pair of pants. Her face was impossibly paler, but she brushed away my arm when I went to give her a hand to the couch. She sat down carefully, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

"_Please_ let me take you to the hospital," I begged quietly.

"No. There's nothing they can do that I haven't already done," she said. It was obvious she was trying to put her usual strength into her voice, but it came out as a tired breath. That terrified me.

"How are you feeling?"

She didn't answer me. I watched her in silence for a long two minutes, and she turned her head to look at me.

"Thank you. Not only for helping, but… if you hadn't stopped me, I would have killed them."

"Don't mention it."

She gave me a tired smile, then closed her eyes again. I watched her for a few minutes, and as her face relaxed I realized that she'd fallen asleep.

I was stunned for a few minutes. I didn't want to wake her, so as gently as I could, I got off of the couch, and shifted her so that she was lying down in a more comfortable position. It was very surreal, touching her like that, but I didn't let my mind wander. After that, I draped my jacket over her like a blanket.

I never really realized how small she was until that minute, cloaked under my coat like a small child. Her attitude and confident posture always gave the illusion that she was much bigger. She looked really young with her face relaxed in sleep like this.

I forced myself to step away from her, and then shut off the lights before lying down on her floor.

I couldn't sleep, wondering if I was doing the wrong thing by not forcing her to go to the hospital. I was playing with the idea of calling my dad to come over, but was pretty sure I would be a dead man if I did. She'd never forgive me.

I did eventually start to drift off, but was pulled back by the soft sound of her voice.

"Wake up," she whispered.

"Hmmm."

"Wake up."

"Yeah, I'm awake, I'm just-"

"Wake the fuck up," she said, voice almost panicked. I sat up quickly, and saw that her eyes were still closed, but her expression was strained. She was talking in her sleep. "Wake up!"

I jumped to my feet, and shook her shoulder to wake her. She obviously didn't want to be asleep right now, and it was fucking eerie. She grabbed onto the wrist of my hand that touched her, twisting in in her grasp and sending me to my knees with a hiss.

"Oh fuck! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No no, it's okay. I was kind of expecting you to do that, if I was being honest with myself," I told her, grinning while rubbing my wrist. "Sorry, but you were talking in your sleep. It seemed like you wanted to wake up."

Her face flushed red as she looked up at me with her big brown eyes, and my heart fucking melted at the beauty in front of me. She turned away quickly. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Don't mention it. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, just pissed off," she said, then shot to her feet. "Fuck! What time is it?"

"Almost seven."

"Fuck! Fuckfuckfuck. I gotta go."

"Hey! Wait, what's wrong?"

"My boy's been by himself all night, he's going to be freaking out, I gotta get home." She paused and looked at me. "Sorry, but I can't leave you here by yourself."

"No no, that's cool. Let's go."

I followed her as she sprinted out of the building, and she gave her bike one sad look before shaking her head, sliding on her shades, and making her way over to the sidewalk where there was a line of waiting cabs.

"Are you sure you're okay to get home by yourself? You dislocated your fucking arm this morning."

"Yeah, I'm good."

"I don't believe you."

"You okay getting a ride?"

"Yeah, could you just do me a favor though?"

"Maybe," she said, looking at me suspiciously.

"Can you just… Text me or something later? And let me know you're okay?"

"I'm fine Batman, don't worry about me."

"If you don't call me, I'm coming by the club to check on you tonight."

"Well, I guess I'll see you tonight then," she said easily, dashing over to the front of the line of yellow cars and ducking into one before they drove out of sight.

I think she just gave me actual permission to come see her at work. I grinned proudly, but it disappeared quickly when I saw the splatters of blood on the pavement next to me.

What would have happened to her if I hadn't come? My stomach sank again.

. . . . . . . . . .

"What's up with you today?"

Alice was fiddling with the silver chain of the clutch in her lap, and she looked close to the brink of tears.

"I think something happened to B," she whispered.

I tensed. "What makes you say that?"

'_Don't say a word to Alice…'_

"Rose and I met up with her for lunch today, her lip was all swollen, and she barely ate. She _always_ eats everything on her plate. She wouldn't take off her sunglasses either. We asked her, and she wouldn't say anything, just kept telling us to drop it."

"I'm sure she's fine Alice, she's a strong woman," I said, feeling sick to my stomach. "Besides, she's always wearing those sunglasses when she's out."

"I don't know Edward. I'm really worried about her."

"We'll see her soon, I'm sure she's fine Al."

"You know I hate it when you call me that," she said, grinning up at me. I winked at her, making her laugh.

We made our way into the club, and sat down with Emmett and Jasper at our table.

B wasn't at her lookout, and my heart dropped.

"Where's B?" Alice asked in a panicked voice, beating me to it.

"Er, I think she's taking the night off tonight or something," Emmett said, and changed the subject quickly. Alice looked up at me, panic in her eyes. I didn't have the strength to wait a second longer, I had to do something.

"Hey Emmett, can I talk to you for a second? Outside maybe?"

"Uh, sure." He followed after me suspiciously, the bouncer by the bar letting Emmett though the back. We stopped in the alley, my eyes flickering to the dried reddish stain on the ground for a second. "What's up bro?"

"You and B seem really close," I hedged.

"Yeah, so?" He growled.

"Who is her closest friend?"

"That's none of your fucking business, I thought I told you to stay away from her," he spat, turning around. I grabbed onto his arm.

"Emmett, please! This is important, it's not about me," I pleaded, panicking. I should have taken her to damn hospital, I could of just fucking carried her while she was out. Oh god, what if she's unconscious in her apartment, alone, being eaten by that giant dog…

"Hey, Edward, I'm sorry, are you okay?" He looked at me with a gentle, uncomfortable expression.

"No, I have to know Emmett."

He looked at me for a long minute, debating. "I am, I guess."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"So you know where she lives? You know what her actual name is?"

"Yeah, but I can't tell you those things."

"No, I don't want to know. Look, last night when I left, I found her in the alley getting attacked by these two guys. Fucking James and one of his lackeys I guess. They beat the shit out of her, even dislocated her fucking shoulder. And he had a knife and…I think she fixed herself up pretty good but- Man, I tried to convince her to let me take her to the hospital, but she wouldn't let me. I didn't know what to do, I told her I'd come check on her tonight to make sure she was okay, but she's not here. Alice said she looked like shit at lunch today, wouldn't even eat. You have to do something Emmett, I just need to know that she's okay."

I was breathing heavily, my pulse racing with fear. I was gripping onto the front of his shirt with two fists while he looked down at me in shock. His expression quickly flipped to one of raw fury.

"What happened to the guys?"

"I knocked one out, with a bottle, she beat the other one into unconsciousness and called someone to pick them up and deal with them for her."

He rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. "God, she needs to fucking get over this thing with the doctors," he mumbled. He looked back down at me. "Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine. As stubborn as she is, she would have called me if it was bad. I'll go and check on her though."

I slumped, letting go of him as I finally felt like I could breathe. "Thank you Emmett."

"You really care about her, don't you?" I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud, and just nodded once. "Hey Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"You did the right thing, telling me about this. Thank you."

"Can you just let me know if she's okay?"

"Sure. I'll text the others from the cab to let them know I left." He turned and started walking down the alley. I slumped against the wall. "Hey, Edward!"

"What?" I shouted back, looking over at him.

"What I said still goes, this changes nothing. You touch her, and I fucking kill you!" He gave me a bright smile, then walked around the corner.

Fucking weirdo.

I went back and sat with the others. Jasper was doing a better job at calming Alice, and when I sat down next to Rose she smiled up at me.

Something in her expression told me she knew, even if she didn't know all of it. I gave her a short nod of acknowledgement.

"Alice, I told you that she's fine. I talked to her half an hour ago, I just didn't want her working till four in the morning when she's sick."

"I know," she sniffled. The runny mascara look really didn't suit her.

"Hey Jasper, why don't you take Alice home?"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. You want to ride with us?"

"Nah, I'm just going to hang out with Rose for a bit. Get some sleep Alice."

She nodded, and let Jasper lead her away. The sight of her like that broke my heart, but I knew that she was in better hands with him.

"Emmett talked to you?"

"Yeah."

"What'd he say?"

"He didn't give details, but I was able to put two and two together." I nodded. "I meant what I said to Alice, she's fine. I just didn't want her working tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I sighed, hiding my face in my hands. "She's going to beat the shit out of me for telling him," I groaned.

"Yup. Probably. That or she'll think you're really considerate and offer to blow you." My head shot up, gaping at her, and she burst out into laughter. "That was a fucking joke! Don't look so excited!" She laughed, leaning over and banging her fist on the table. "Oh my god! You should have just seen your face!" She grinned up at me, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh man, cousin, you've got it bad."

I chose to ignore her, and went and got myself a strong drink before sitting back down with her.

This club felt fucking boring without B in it. The giant man in black pants and a tight black t-shirt stood out like a sore thumb, and in the place that he was standing he could only see half of the bar. He was watching his phone anyways, not the room.

B would flip when she watched the footage of this night.

Just then my phone buzzed, and I ripped it out of my pocket as quickly as I could.

_**She's fine, she would have gone into work but Rose wouldn't let her. I'm still grateful that you told me though, thanks man. I owe you one.**_

I sighed in relief. Even though I'd heard it from Rose, knowing Emmett was next to her right now comforted me. I grinned, and put my phone away.

"Hey Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"What are you talking about Rose?"

"I've seen the way you look at her, it's obvious. But B, she's… Just be careful, okay?"

"Is there something I should know Rose? Why are you all so fucking secretive about this chick? Is she a fugitive or something?" This was really starting to fucking annoy me.

"We do it because we love her. If you put her in danger, or hurt her in any way, I'll kill you myself."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," I mumbled in annoyance. "Thanks for the warning."

I left not long afterwards, too irritated to sit there anymore. They were all fucking hiding something from me, and I was fed up with it.

B wasn't the only person that _knew_ people.

I started up my laptop when I got home, and sent an e-mail to Aro. I told him what I knew about her, where she worked, what she looked like, and the nickname she went by, telling him that I wanted her fucking name, a background check and her criminal records as soon as possible. Feeling accomplished, I dropped down in my bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

. . .

I woke up to a loud pounding on my front door, and looked over at my alarm clock.

It was five in the morning, what the fuck? I'd only been asleep for half an hour.

I walked out of my room in my flannel pants, and opened the door while rubbing my eyes. "What's going-"

_Crack._

"Fuck!" I gripped my face with my hand, and didn't even see the second sharp jab to my stomach coming. I crumbled forward, but a quick shove knocked me onto my back. My arms were pulled away from myself, and pinned down at my sides by what felt like someone's knees before my mugger slapped me in the face.

"_What the fuck is wrong with you!"_ She shouted, and I looked up in shock to see B straddling me, and looking down at me with unveiled fury. I was too shocked to say anything, my body radiating with pain. _"Why the fuck were you trying to access my criminal records Edward!?"_

"How did you-"

"I got an alert when you sent_ this_-" she ripped out a paper copy of the e-mail I sent to Aro and shoved it in my face. "At first I thought it was some sort of mistake, but that was my own fucking fault for letting my guard down around you, wasn't it? You fucking _prick."_ She looked like she was going to slap me again, but stopped herself. The look of betrayal in her eyes was more painful than any of the hits she'd gotten in anyways, but she covered that quickly with anger once more. "You know, I was actually starting to think you were a decent guy. What the fuck is your problem! _Why can't you just leave me alone?"_

She was breathing heavily, trembling on top of me, and for a second I almost thought I saw her eyes start to water. She jumped up to her feet, but I lunged forward and kicked the door shut before she could storm out.

"Wait-" I gasped. I could barely fucking breathe, she got me hard in the ribs, and I could taste blood in my mouth.

"Don't make me kick you while you're down," she growled. I leaned up against the door, not backing away.

"You're hiding something, you're all fucking hiding something. I'm sick of the secrets, and I'm not going to let you drag my family into whatever warrant's you're running from."

"_Your_ family? Rose?"

"Yeah."

"You've been gone for five fucking years, you don't know Rose. She may be your blood, but she's _my_ family. _I_ protect her, not _you_," she spat.

"Protect her from what?" This wasn't the first time they had hinted at that.

"If you knew her, you wouldn't be asking. Now get the hell out of my way before I knock you out."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not leaving me." She grabbed me to move me, and I grabbed onto her shoulder hard to stop her.

Her left shoulder.

She screamed, and dropped to her knees on the ground in front of me before slumping to the floor. I let go of her quickly.

"Fuck! B, I'm sorry, I forgot. Are you-" She wasn't moving. "B? B, talk to me!"

I rolled her over, and she was unconscious. Fuck.

I called Emmett, I didn't even think about it.

"What the fuck are you calling me so early for?" He mumbled.

"I need you to get to my house, like right fucking now Emmett."

"What's going on?" He growled.

"B's kind of… unconscious in my foyer right now. I don't know what to do."

"You're a fucking dead man Cullen."

The line went dead.

I didn't doubt his words for an instant.

I don't know how, but it felt like he was ripping open my door five minutes later, and found me sitting on the tiles in front of her, just watching her. I'd never hurt a woman before, and the fact that I had hurt her, _B_, enough to make her scream and pass out, even if unintentional, was fucking nauseating. She hadn't moved, but she seemed to be breathing fine.

"What the fuck did you do?"

"I grabbed her shoulder, her left one, and she just passed out."

He shoved me out of his way and went to move her. He stopped when she groaned, and clutched at her shoulder before rolling onto her side. Her eyes opened and looked up at Emmett in confusion for a second, then saw me and her eyes narrowed.

She jumped to her feet, lunging at me, but Emmett caught her and pinned her to the floor.

She couldn't fight that much weight.

"Let me go Emmett! I'm going to fucking kill him!"

"Calm down! We'll all take turns kicking Edward's ass once you tell me what the fuck is going on!" He turned her face to look at him, and their eyes stayed locked for a long, quiet minute.

They were complete opposites, they looked nothing alike, but at the same time there was something so similar about them. My stomach fluttered nervously.

B sighed, and the fight just seemed to slip away from her. She looked over to the side of her, and I followed her gaze to the slightly ripped letter on the ground.

"Read that, and you'll know."

He watched her for a few more seconds, but she seemed calm, and he released her before grabbing the paper. I saw his face burn bright red as he quickly went over it. He looked at me in confusion.

"Why would you do this? I thought you fucking cared about her?"

B laughed sarcastically, and shakily got back up to her feet. Her face was extremely pale, making her bruised eyes and puffy lip stand out even more. There was a faint sheen of sweat of her face also.

"I'm sick of all the secrecy," I said. I wasn't going to apologize to a felon.

Emmett looked back over at B. "Did it get through?"

"No, I crashed his account then cleared the trail. No one read it but me."

"Are you sure? I'm not taking a fucking chance, not again."

"I'm sure Emmett. I just don't know what to do with this asshole," she said, nodding at me. Emmett spun around, lifting me off the ground and throwing me against the wall.

"Do you have any idea how much fucking danger you almost put her in?" He growled, shoving me again.

"Emmett…" Her voice sounded slightly panicked now.

"No! He's not going to drop this, and I am _not_ going to let that fucking asshole find you again," he snapped. She flinched away from his voice, and looked down at the ground as she leaned against the wall.

"What are you talking about?"

"My sister is in fucking witness protection you asshole, that's why she can't tell anyone her fucking name. What you did, you could have gotten her fucking killed! Now, you're going to back the fuck off, you won't even fucking look at her again, let alone talk about her. You won't step a foot into my gym or club, you got that?"

"Your… sister?"

"Yes, my _fucking baby sister_ you asshole. _Fuck!"_ He punched his fist through the wall beside my head in anger.

B was pulling on his arm, and when he looked down at her, the pain in his eyes stopped my breath.

How did I not see it?

"Come on Em, let's go. This is a waste of time. I'll make us some steaks for breakfast," she said quietly, pulling him away from me. He was trembling, vibrating, but he seemed to calm slightly under her touch. He smiled, and wrapped one of his giant arms around her shoulders.

They both shot me a disgusted look, and in that moment, I easily saw the resemblance. It wasn't a physical thing, but a mental one.

They walked out without another word, and after closing my door I fell to the ground, shaking.

It was too much of an over load. B was Emmett's little sister, the woman yelling that day in the cyclist class, who he was always texting and bragging about, but never released any actual personal details about. Why him, Rose and B were all so close.

They were a fucking family. It explained why Rose was so protective of her too, and vice versa. They were like sisters.

Worse than that was the possibility that I had almost gotten her hurt. There was someone looking for her, someone dangerous obviously, and I could have set off the alarms that sent him right after her.

The realization that I may have endangered her was what drained my last bit of energy, and I slid down the wall to the floor. I'd never experienced anything like this, the nauseating, consuming , painful hole that has been ripped open in my chest.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Okay okay, just bear with me. Please? It gets better, and some questions will get answered next chapter.**

**Who are you more upset with? B or E?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I know some of you are a little confused, but all I can really tell you is that things will be explained as the story progresses. I have reasons for everything that I'm doing, and my characters aren't without their own faults. Thank you for reviewing, following, or faving! You guys make this really fun, and I always love hearing from you!**

**SM owns the characters, but they're not the same anymore. Not in my world.**

**Okay kids, I've gotten tired of warning you. It's your own fault if you're still here; I won't tell if you don't.**

**Song: Sad Edward plays the piano. There's a link on my profile to an awesome version of "What it's Like" by Everlast, done on the piano. Just picture Edward's deep, sexy voice singing along. Mmm.**

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"Edward?"

"Go away Alice."

"Thank god, I thought you'd died." She walked into my room and wrinkled her nose. "It sure smells like you did. When was the last time you showered?"

"I said _go away_ Alice."

"Edward, you need to get out of your apartment, this isn't healthy."

"What's the point? I'm never going to get to see her again."

"You don't know that."

"I _do_ know Alice, you don't know what I did, what I almost-"

"I do know, actually."

"What?"

"She told me everything. I've known her and Emmett were siblings for weeks, actually. And she told me what you did, and what she did to you afterwards."

"Is she okay?" I begged, jolting upright. Alice looked at me sadly, with a trace of annoyance.

"I had to have dad reset her shoulder for her last week. It took a while to convince her to let him touch her, but she's fine now. She was back to kicking ass at work again Friday night."

"I didn't mean to grab her shoulder, it was an accident Alice. She fucking _screamed._ She passed out from it right in front of me! And I could have… I swear, if I knew I never would have sent that e-mail, I never wanted to hurt her Alice. I was worried, and I was pissed off, but I'd never want to hurt her or put her in danger." I was so congested it was getting hard to speak, and she handed me a Kleenex and I blew my nose furiously. "I fucking love her Alice, do you have any idea how fucked up that is? I don't even know her fucking name, but I'm in love with her. I haven't been able to even look at another woman since the first fucking moment I saw her. I don't know what the hell to do anymore..."

"I told you," she said happily.

"What are you talking about? Told me what?" I mumbled. I froze when I looked up and she was standing in the doorway to my bedroom, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest.

She looked amazing. Her face was all healed up, and she had her hair in a thick French braid. She was wearing dark jeans that sat low on her hips, a lacy blue shirt and her black leather jacket. I'd never seen her dressed so casually before, and to be honest, she looked like a completely different person.

"You look like shit, Hollywood," she said in a bored tone.

"You look fucking beautiful," I blurted out. My sister laughed, and I saw the corner of B's mouth twitch.

"Thanks. Take a shower, I want to talk to you." Without another word, she spun around and left the room. I gawked at my sister, who winked, and then followed her out of the room.

She was in my house.

Holy shit.

I shot out of my bed, jumping into the shower quickly before pulling on a pair of jeans. I caught a glimpse of the large purple bruise on my ribs, and quickly pulled on a plain white t-shirt. I brushed my teeth, and walked out to my living room as casually as I could force myself to move.

B and Alice were leaning against each other on my couch, looking at something on B's phone. Alice burst out laughing while B smirked, but as if she felt me walk into the hallway, she quickly looked up at me. Alice followed her gaze.

"Are you sure it's okay if I stay?" Alice asked her.

"Of course, this will only take a minute. I'm better at controlling my temper with you around, pixie." She nudged her with her elbow, and looked back up at me. I went and sat down cautiously, and she seemed surprised to see me sit right next to her instead of across from her. If this was my last chance to see her though, I was going to fucking appreciate it close up.

God, she was so fucking beautiful. It was painful to even look at her.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, begging her with my eyes to understand.

"I know, but you shouldn't be," she said quietly. My eyes widened, and she huffed before straightening up and speaking again quickly, looking annoyed. "As much of an asshole as you were, I don't actually believe you want me to die, if what you said to Alice in your room was actually true."

I felt my ears burn red, but I couldn't bring myself to deny it. I was fucking gone. "It is."

She glared at me, and then pinched the bridge of her nose while tightly closing her eyes in frustration. "Okay, yeah, whatever. The point is, you didn't know what you were really doing, how could you have? You wanted answers, and I don't blame you because I would have done the exact same thing. Fuck, I won't even talk to someone unless I do a background check on them first."

"Did you do one on me?" Alice asked with a big smile.

"Oh yeah, loads of them," she said easily, then looked back at me. "Point is, there was no harm done, and it was an accident."

"Are you serious? I can never fucking tell when you're being serious."

She watched me carefully for a moment, then grinned. "Yes Romeo, I'm being fucking serious."

Her nickname didn't make sense today. "Romeo?"

"You're being fucking tragic right now," she said teasingly, shooting me a wink. I laughed loudly, and so did my sister who wrapped her arms around B to give her a hug. My sister seemed to really enjoy hugging her, and I found it entertaining watching the gradual change in B's reaction to them. I was just sort of relieved she was teasing me again, it made things feel... normal. And I thought I'd lost that forever. The horrible memory of her scream echoed through my mind again. The sound was burned into my memory.

"I'm sorry for grabbing your shoulder."

"Don't be, you were lucky you had an easy shot, else you'd probably be in the hospital right now."

I couldn't help it, my hand went over my rib automatically, and her eyes narrowed.

"Let me see."

"What?"

"Let me see your ribs," she ordered. I sighed, and leaned back against the couch before lifting up my shirt. Alice gasped, but B's face remained impassive. I shivered as her soft hands moved over my stomach, checking my ribs with a serious expression.

It hurt like hell, but I never wanted her to stop.

"Nothing's broken, just bad bruising," she said. Her face softened, just as her voice did, and once again I felt like I was talking to a completely different person. They were all the same though, they were all _her_, and I'd yet to find a version that I didn't care for. "Look, I... I'm sorry for hurting you, for handling the situation like I did. I'm not going to make any excuses for myself, because it won't change anything. But I wish I'd handled it differently."

And with that, she got up quickly and walked over to my kitchen. I was a little stunned, because honestly, I hadn't really wanted an apology from her. The look of betrayal in her eyes that night... I had thought about that night constantly, what she'd said. How she regretted _letting her guard down_ around me. That had taken awhile to figure out, because she was _always_ guarded. But there were moments in L.A., like when she'd cooked for me and just let me sit with her, when she'd asked me if I needed someone to talk to and let me just vent to her about Tanya... Compared to what little I really knew about her, that seemed extremely out of character. I had to think that if that had been her finally starting to warm up to me, then being attacked, and then me almost jeopardizing whatever the fuck her situation was because I was obviously missing something, she would definitely have felt betrayed and more than likely overwhelmed. I looked over at Alice, who had turned away from me and was wiping her eyes. I gave her a questioning look when she turned back to me.

"I've never seen her like that," Alice said, and then a fire burned in her eyes as she scowled at me. "You just had to push, didn't you?" She whispered, then continued on without giving me a chance to speak. "I told you to stay away from her, but you kept pushing. Why did you have to go to Aro? Why didn't you just come to me before you tried to get someone to investigate _my friend_?"

"Alice-"

"No, Edward. Let me say this." She looked in the direction of my kitchen again. "The only reason I'm not kicking your ass is because she's been tearing herself up with guilt worrying about you. She's the one that's been making me call you and check on you. But you had to fucking push. You know, she would have told you. She was going to tell you. She just had to make sure she could trust you first, but you took that chance away from her."

"Alice I have no fucking clue what's going on. None of this makes any goddamn sense."

"What doesn't make any sense?" B asked, walking back in and sitting next to me with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. She lifted my shirt back up before gently placing it over the bruise.

It felt fucking amazing.

"Emmett said you were in witness protection."

She sighed. "That would be over-simplifying things to the extreme. I'm not in some sort of witness protection program... anymore. Not really."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the government, the FBI, the police, I can't fucking trust any of them. Every time they've tried to hide me or protect me, they've almost gotten me killed. I've been out for about three years now." She looked back at me again. "The way I handled things with you were wrong, but if your lawyer had looked into the information you sent him, he would have found out that there are no females under payroll at Rose's club. He would have hired a private investigator. They would have followed me, they would have found my other establishments of employment, and they would have found out about my aliases, and _then_ they would have found out about Emmett. Fuck... it's a lot to explain, but it's happened before. That's why Emmett freaked out on you, he was afraid of it happening again. We've never been safe this long before, what we've been doing here is working."

"But why'd you even come to LA with me?"

She gave me a sad smile. "Because I didn't think you would back off, and that maybe the extended time would have made you... give up? Hopefully you'd lose curiosity, and wouldn't be tempted to dig further. Besides, I'm good at hiding my face. It's names I worry about."

Fuck.

"And I understand if you want to contact the police, or press charges on me. But if you do it, I'll warn you now that I'll know as soon as you do. I'll disappear, and they'll never catch me. I don't exist. So you might as well as just tell me now if those are your intentions."

"No!" Her eyes widened in surprise, and I coughed to clear my throat. "I mean, no, I had no intention of contacting the authorities," I said at a much more appropriate volume.

The room was quiet then. Alice was watching B worriedly, who was watching me patiently while I tried to process all this new information.

And I guess I got what she was saying. It was fucking crazy, but I got it.

And I felt like a piece of shit. It was obviously that she didn't want to be telling me any of this, but I'd forced her hand. And here she was, trying to apologize and give me what I'd almost inadvertently hurt her for.

I kinda wished she'd just punch me again.

"You know, I would do anything to protect my family too. I understand why you did what you did. I was angry, and wish I could have handled it differently too."

"Truce?"

I grinned brightly, like I'd fucking turn that down. "Definitely."

She nodded to the icepack I was holding under my shirt. "Fifteen minutes on fifteen minutes off for an hour a couple times a day," she said casually.

"So let's get this straight. You're a body guard slash head of security for New York's biggest night club, a librarian who also teaches classes at a gym, and now you're a doctor too?"

"Not a doctor, I just did a bit of training as an EMT."

"Anything else?"

She shrugged.

"So… does this mean I'm not banned anymore? Can I come see you?"

She pursed her lips, and the look in her eyes was very sad. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

A sharp pain radiated through my chest, and I'm sure that she saw it by the look on her face. "Why?"

"Because it wouldn't be fair for me to let you waste your time with this knowing what your feelings are."

So it's not because she doesn't want to see me, but because she doesn't want to hurt me? I laughed.

"I'm not asking you to fucking marry me, I'm just asking for a chance to get to know you."

She grinned, then laughed loudly. I saw her flinch from the movement, her hand going over her stomach, but I didn't say anything.

Alice was watching us with an amused smile, as B seemed to think carefully about her answer.

"You're not banned, but if you keep checking out my ass every time I turn around I'll beat you up again."

I laughed, clutching at my stomach from the movement also. We gave each other a knowing grin.

"Okay, well, we should get going," B said, standing up.

I made sure not to visibly frown. I had a million more questions for her, but I had a feeling she knew that. And was trying to avoid them. I decided not to push my luck, or her. I was in a much better fucking place than I had been an hour and a half ago. "What are you ladies up to today?"

She smiled mischievously, rubbing her hands together as she looked at my sister.

"Rose wants to lose ten pounds before the wedding, I'm joining in for moral support," my sister said excitedly.

I felt my face pale. "And you're getting _her_ to help you?"

"Of course, what's wrong with that?" She looked between us curiously.

"What are you going to get them to do?"

"Just a bit of spinning and some fun with some medicine balls." She looked like a cat with canary feathers sticking out of the corner of her mouth. I couldn't help laughing, and gave Alice a tight hug.

"Remember Alice, I've always loved you, and you're the most amazing sister in the world."

"Why are you telling me this?" She glared at me suspiciously.

"Because I've seen what she does to people in that gym, and this is probably going to be the last time I see you alive."

B laughed, and clapped me on the arm. "You can be really sweet sometimes, Hollywood."

I walked them over to the door, my sister looking a little bit nervous. I was sad to see them go, but hopeful at the same time.

This wasn't good-bye.

She spun around and ran back from the elevator, and I looked down at her in surprise. Her head darted from side to side, inspecting the empty hall, before holding out her hand. I took it cautiously, and she gave me a firm handshake.

"Hi, I'm Bella." My eyes went wide as I froze.

_Bella._

Fucking beautiful.

"Okay, that's enough estrogen for me. See you around, Hollywood." She spun back around, and made her way back to the elevator just before it opened. Then they were gone.

I went back inside, dropping down on the couch. I couldn't restrain the ear splitting grin that spread over my face.

Her name was Bella. I knew I would probably never be able to call her that, but just knowing, I felt like gravity had shifted.

She may not love me, barely even like me, but I felt like I finally had the chance to change that now. I wouldn't screw this up again. Bella _would_ fall for me. I was determined, and she didn't stand a fucking chance.

. . . . . . . . . .

I was just reaching for my doorknob when my phone started buzzing, and I sighed before answering.

"Hey Tyler."

"Edward! Hey man, how's it going? What are you up to?"

"I was just heading out for a run. What's up?"

"Oh, I'll be quick. I just wanted to give you an update, I never really see you any more, with you being so far, you know? They're still working on casting for Rogue, but they've set the date for the pre-production party for the twenty-third of October already. No changes in the news for Black Sunrise, last I heard was that they're pretty much done the editing already, it's just mostly admin. So the tour is still set for January."

"Oh, cool, I'll make sure to put that in my calendar now. How are things going in LA?"

"Oh, you know; sunny, warm, exciting. All sorts of awesome. I can't see why you haven't come back yet."

"I told you I was moving here permanently Tyler. It was your decision to keep up this partnership long distance."

"I guess I just figured you'd change your mind after a couple weeks, but it's been two months. It's not the same here without you."

"I'm sorry man, I don't really know what to tell you. I like my life here."

"What do you do all day? Just hang around your apartment, go to that club, and go running?"

I didn't say anything, because he was right. But only partially. There was so much more. Being so close to my sister and parents again changed everything. And there was Rose too, and she was marrying someone who I considered a good friend and great guy, (even if he wanted me dead at the moment.) Being with family, being really loved, I just couldn't feel whole again without it.

And I wasn't even going to mention B.

Bella. Her name is Bella.

I was grinning stupidly at my door, and shook my head when I caught the sound of Tyler's voice.

"Edward? Are you still there? Hellooooo?"

"Oh, sorry, what was that?"

"Never mind. I'll talk to you again soon. Take care man."

"You too."

I pushed the guilt out of my mind, and put on some Metallica before running out of my door.

Today was going to be a good day, despite the date. Friday the 13th was holding a lot of promise, I could just feel it. I didn't go to the club last weekend because we went out of town for mom's birthday. Luckily Alice had cooled down and didn't seem particularly hostile towards me anymore. I was a little nervous because I hadn't seen Emmett since the day B had passed out at my house, and even though she had apparently forgiven me, I was too nervous to go to the gym and see if he had also.

He banned me. He was her fucking brother. I would kill me too, or anyone that had ever hurt or endangered my little sister. I wouldn't hesitate.

Yes, I was a little scared.

I got into the habit of timing my runs, trying to get myself on a more regular schedule. Tyler threw me off even more, because I had already slept in.

My area of town was kind of boring to run in, so to also kill a bit of extra time, I would walk the forty-minute route to central park, run laps around the lake, and then grab a coffee while reading the paper before going back. In my running gear, with my aviators and a baseball cap, not many people gave me a second glance.

Well, that wasn't true, but less people recognized me anyways.

It wasn't like I had any other plans, being late wouldn't really change anything. It was really gorgeous out today, sunglasses were a must. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was fairly warm for the middle of September. I felt myself start to vibrate with excited energy, and sped up to a light jog, bringing myself to the lake just a couple minutes earlier.

I am so thankful that it did. The lake was so large, if I hadn't gotten there at that exact moment I might never have seen her.

Bella was running along the edge of the lake, wearing a pair of tight black jogging pants, with a baggy, long sleeved white cotton shirt. Her long hair was tied back in a braid, she had her giant black and neon green headphones on, and as always, her large sunglasses.

She wasn't alone though. Running along next to her with an even bigger grin than hers, was a giant beast of a German Shepard. He was lean and muscular, solid black, and I could easily see him being as tall, if not bigger than her if he stood up on his hind legs. He seemed very well disciplined though, he was very attentive of her, and stayed glued to her side while matching her pace as they ran without a leash.

I followed before I lost sight of them.

I kept pace for about ten minutes, until a sick feeling spread through my stomach. I told myself that I wouldn't screw this up, and fucking stalking her was definitely something that could screw shit up.

So I started running faster.

She had already set a pretty brisk pace, she was fucking fast, so it wasn't easy, or quick. It must have taken me at least another ten minutes to catch up to her, but my excitement provided a lot of adrenaline so I still felt amazing.

I knew better by now than to just reach out and touch her, she was big on her personal space. With me, anyways. I pulled out my headphones, and pushed a little ahead of her before ginning and giving her a wave.

Apparently her dog wasn't a fan of people waving, because he jumped in between us when she slowed and growled at me.

My life flashed before my eyes.

"Zeus!" She called in a strong voice, and his head snapped toward her immediately. She pointed to the ground by her right side and he sprang back up to his feet and dashed to her side, lying down in the grass next to her. She pushed back her sunglasses and smiled brightly at me. "Hey, what's up?"

I just stared.

"Don't worry, he'd never hurt you. He's just protective. Well, he wouldn't unless I _told_ him to," she said with a grin. I relaxed slightly at the sight.

She was fucking glowing today, and it was hard not to stare. Why was she smiling so much? It was awesome, but weird at the same time for her.

"Sorry, I just saw you running and had to say hi. How's it going?"

"Great, you?"

Fuck, I couldn't think with her smiling like that.

"I'd have to say amazing. You seem like you're in a good mood today, what's up?"

She shrugged. "I just have the feeling that today is going to be a good day," she said, kneeling down and scratching behind Zeus' ears. His tongue rolled out of his mouth as he looked up at her happily.

It was kind of overwhelming, and I dragged my right hand through my hair in frustration before putting my hat back on as I fought the urge to just pull her towards me and kiss her.

Her and that dog could too easily kill me though.

"Have you been out here long?"

"Not really. I usually just do two laps, I still have one more. You?"

"Same," I said, unable to contain my smile. "Would you guys, uh, like some company for a bit?"

"Sure… I don't really talk while I run though."

"Me neither," I told her easily, plugging my headphones back in. She smiled, sliding hers back on, and straightened back up. I gestured for her to lead the way, and she smiled before looking down at her dog, nodding her head, and took off at a light jog once he stood up excitedly.

She didn't stay at that pace long though, and after about fifteen minutes I began to think that she was testing me. She just kept slowly increasing her speed but I refused to tap out. I was a good runner, I'd been doing it steadily for ten years, but Bella ran like a fucking dear, and her wolf easily matched her pace, running in between us looking fucking ecstatic.

I almost laughed in relief when she slowed down to a jog once more, my legs burning. She came to a stop at a bike rack, and stopped at one that had a white basket with a locked lid on the front. She took out a bottle of water and a collapsible bowl, and poured half the bottle into it for Zeus before taking a swig herself. He lapped it up greedily, making concerning choking sounds.

"Slow down greedy," she cooed, rubbing his head. He actually fucking listened, and she smiled adoringly at him.

_Stop staring at her fucking mouth and say something!_

"So, do you come here often?" Ugh, did I seriously just say that?

"Very original, Hollywood," she said with an eye roll. "I really expected more from you." Her voice was teasing, but there was something about her stance that made her seem uncomfortable. Even her dog picked up on it, and growled at me again.

I liked him.

She snapped her fingers, and he sat down quietly at her side. "Sorry, it's still just kind of weird talking about… myself," she explained uncomfortably, seeing the worry in my face most likely. "I only come here on Thursdays and Fridays, I like it better during the day when it's not as busy."

"So I take it Monday to Wednesday you work at the Library?" She looked at me suspiciously, shifting again. I looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance, but the area actually seemed kind of deserted. "Before I knew you were Emmett's sister, he told me his little sister worked at a Library. I was running with him one time when he asked you to cover a spinning class."

She grinned and shook her head before picking up the bowl and putting it away in her basket. She pulled out a bright yellow Frisbee. "So, you biked here?"

She didn't pause as long before answering this time. "Yeah, it takes about forty minutes. You don't live close exactly either."

"Forty minute walk. I don't like running around my block."

"I hear you, it can be so boring running around on cement. If I lived closer I'd run here every day. What are you up to now?"

"I usually just grab a coffee and read the paper for a while, would you like one?"

"Oh, no thanks. Caffeine makes me all jittery," she said easily, and I frowned. "But, uh, I'm still sticking around for a while if you wanted to… hang out?"

"Sure." _Stop grinning you idiot._

"Oh, okay. Well go ahead and grab your coffee, we'll just be over there." She nodded to the open field before detaching the basket from her bike.

It was a pretty cool basket, I'd never seen one like it before. It was like a locking picnic basket that you could attach to your bike. I watched as she walked away quickly, throwing the disk once she got into the clearing. The giant black dog shot after it in the same second.

This day was already turning out better than I could have dreamed. I sat down in the grass, not reading my paper while watching Bella play Frisbee with her "baby." I was once again captivated by her effortless style of beauty. I have never seen her wear make-up, or dress in fancy clothes or jewelry before, but she really didn't need it.

She was perfect just the way she was, her damp shirt clinging to her back slightly. I was really curious about what sort of shirt she was wearing under it. It seemed to have a really neat design, but I couldn't make it out. She wore her dog out after about twenty minutes, and he trotted over and dropped down next me in the grass.

I smiled, and reached out to pet him, but stopped myself quickly and pulled my hand back into my lap.

"You can pet him if you want, just let him sniff your hand first," she said, dropping down on the other side of him. She smiled, and held her hand in front of his face. He sniffed her automatically, and she ruffled the shaggy fur on top of his head. I copied her movements, and he completely ignored me while letting me pet him.

"Have you never pet a dog before?"

"What?"

"You're grinning like a two year old with a new bike," she said with a bit of a laugh.

"I've pet dogs before," I said, rolling my eyes. "I love them, I always wanted one growing up, but my dad's allergic.

"Mine was too," she said with a warm smile, digging through her basket and pulling out a book.

"What's that?"

"Inheritance," she said, flashing me the cover.

"What's it about?"

"A dragon rider, magic, elves, dwarves… that sort of stuff."

"Oh, like that Eragon movie?"

"Yes, actually," she said with a hint of annoyance. "This is the last book in that series."

"And this displeases you why?"

She grinned. "I really like the series, but it never should have been made into a movie. I find that the intricacy of the books is one of its best qualities, and those sorts of things are lost when shoved into a two hour time limit."

I nodded, it was a common complaint, and I felt the exact same way really. I forced my eyes to look back down at my paper, though I took in none of the words. The buzzing awareness that came from being in her presence was too distracting, my eyes flickering to her every time she flipped a page.

That was pretty often, she was a fast fucking reader.

She seemed completely at ease, and it made me a little sad actually. It was obvious that she wasn't affected by the same force as I was.

_Change it then._

"So, you like reading?"

Fuck me.

She laughed, not looking up from her book. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Why?"

"I find it relaxing, I guess. Sometimes it's nice to live in someone else's universe instead of my own for a while."

"I feel the exact same way. I still remember when I was young, I'd sometimes get so lost in a story, and in my mind it was like I _was_ the protagonist, trying to picture exactly how they would feel, why they would do what they did. It's why I wanted to become an actor, I loved recreating it so much that I wanted to find some way to do it for the rest of my life."

I was a little stunned by my own words. They were completely true, but I don't think I had ever really told someone that before. I looked over at Bella, who had the most breath-taking smile on her face.

"For me, when I read a story, it just puts a million different possibilities and ideas into my mind, and most of the time I run away with those ideas, and they morph together, and it makes all these other stories develop in my mind. When I was a kid, I wanted to do nothing more than write them all down and see where they would take me. Make something tangible of my own, you know?"

I nodded, smiling back. "Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Write any of your own stories?"

For a second I had almost thought I'd slapped her from her expression, but she collected herself quickly. The new smile that replaced her previous one was completely forced.

"I did, once. But it didn't work out very well."

"What do you mean? Just a bad plot?"

She laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. "I'm sorry, can we just… talk about something else?" Her arms sort of wrapped around her own torso, like she was hugging herself or trying to just hold herself together, and there was something so heartbreaking about it. I wanted so badly to replace her arms with my own. She looked so damn small and vulnerable right now, it was off-putting.

"Yeah, of course."

She took a deep breath, then looked at me over her sunglasses. The sight of those beautiful brown eyes once again made my heart stutter. "What sort of things do you like to do in your spare time?"

I was stunned for a moment. It was kind of strange having her _ask_ me a personal question. I was still kind of waiting for her to go back to ignoring me.

She wanted to know something about me. It was hard to think with her looking at me like that, all normal.

"I like running, reading, video games… nothing too exciting," I said, feeling kind of lame.

"You have a grand piano at your apartment. Is that just a fancy decoration?"

"Uh, no. I play."

"Well, that's something that can be considered exciting," she said easily, and looked back down at her book.

"What sort of music do you like?"

"Anything and everything except for country. I have a zero-tolerance policy for country music. You?"

"Mostly classical and classic rock."

"Cool." She flipped another page. I didn't really feel like she was ignoring me though, she always seemed almost hyper-aware of her surroundings. She was just effortlessly multi-tasking.

I couldn't help thinking that we were extremely different, but I pushed that away quickly. We liked some of the same music, we both liked to run apparently.

We both loved our families.

And there was nothing wrong with being different. It would be boring being with another version of myself.

"So, do your parents live in the area too?"

"No."

"Oh. Do you still see them often?"

She paused for a long moment. "Not really."

"So you're not very close?" It seemed kind of out of character for what I was building in my mind for her. She and Emmett seemed even closer than Alice and I were. And my sister was my best friend, as lame as that sounded. Did they have to leave them behind?

"I was close with my dad, but he died when I was seventeen. My mom died giving birth to me, so I never met her. It's just me, Emmett and Rose."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't picture growing up without my mom, or not having my dad around. Just thinking about it made me feel sick.

"Don't worry about it," she said easily, turning another page. "Are you close with your parents?"

"Very, although I wasn't for a while. I'm glad I changed that."

She sighed, putting down her book and pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry if I-"

"No, it's not you. I'm sorry, this is just really fucking weird. I feel guilty and weird asking these questions, because I already know so much about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first I'll mention the obvious. You're a fucking movie star, billions of people know tons of shit about you. But the night after you came to the club and were being a fucking weirdo I did a background check on you to make sure you weren't dangerous. It's a habit of mine, but I won't say it's a bad one because I'm used to my intuition being pretty spot on, and it's helped me out a lot before."

"And what did you learn about me?" I asked curiously. I was surprised that I wasn't really upset. I was kind of flattered that she had taken the time, and pleased by the fact that she did kind of know me. Maybe.

"I know that your father is the chief of staff at his hospital, that your mother is a landscaper, I know all about your sister of course, and then your cousin is like a sister to me, so I know about more of your family. I know you lived in LA for the past five years before coming back here. Your record is completely clean. You're apparently a fucking genius and got crazy awesome grades in school, especially in music. I didn't really dig any further than that. Alice really loves you, you know. And she seemed to really trust you, so I let it go."

"Hmm."

"Aren't you mad?"

"No, it's just a little unfair that you know so much more about me than I do about you," I said teasingly. She smirked. "I think we need to even the playing field a little bit."

"And how would you like to do that?" She asked indulgently.

"Answer some more of my questions."

She looked at me again, a playful smile toying on her lips. "I'm not making any promises, but you can try me."

_Oh, there are so many things I'd like to try with you. _

"What's your favourite food?"

"Pasta. I love spicy food too. Mexican. I _love_ pizza," she said, lying back in the grass and folding her arms behind her head. I copied her movements, but watched her while she watched the sky.

"Favourite TV show?"

"Hmm... I don't really watch much TV, but I got Netflix a little while ago and am hooked on the Walking Dead."

"Why don't you watch TV?"

"No time, I keep pretty busy. And I guess you could say that I'm a little… impatient? Commercials annoy the shit out of me, that and only getting little pieces of a story at a time. I prefer to read."

"Do you have a favourite movie?"

"I'll skip that one."

"How do you know Marcus Volturi?"

"Skip."

"How long have you had Zeus?"

"Almost four years."

"How many boyfriends have you had?"

She was silent for a long minute. "Skip."

"Oh, come on. Please?"

"No."

"Okay okay, your favourite dessert?"

"Anything with chocolate in it."

"Colour?"

"Purple."

"Seriously?"

"What's wrong with that?" She snapped. _Touchy_.

"Nothing, I was just expecting you to say black."

"Black is a shade, not a color," she said, rolling her eyes. I grinned. Her phone rang, and she looked at her screen and sighed before answering it. Fuck, how many phones did she have? This looked like a new android. "Hey Hun." She scowled. "Why? What are you making me do?" She spat. "Ugh! I thought you loved me, why are you doing this to me?" She dropped back onto the grass, her eyes closed with an almost pained look on her face. "Yeah, I know." Pause. "Fine! Don't even try to fucking guilt trip me though, I know you're fully aware of what you're doing." Pause. "Sure. Give me an hour or two, I gotta go home and have a shower first." She hung up without saying goodbye.

"Who was that?"

"Rose," she sighed. "Apparently I'm being kidnapped for the day. I need to get home."

"Oh, okay. You working tonight? I was thinking about swinging by."

She was quiet for a minute. "I might be around there for a little while, not quite sure at the moment really."

So there was a chance she wouldn't be?

I'll go anyways, a chance is a chance no matter how small it is.

"Cool, hopefully I see you," I told her with a smile. She stood up, and Zeus jumped to his feet. She clipped a leash onto his collar and picked up her basket.

"Okay. Well, bye."

"Bye."

She walked away without another glance, and I watched as she unlocked her bike, tied the leash to one of the handle bars and took off. I dropped back down in the grass, smiling up at the bright sunlight with my eyes closed.

Best fucking Friday the thirteenth ever so far.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Wear this tonight," Alice said, handing me a zipped garment bag.

"Oh hi Alice, it's nice to see you, please come in," I said teasingly.

"Oh shut up and get changed so we can leave," she said, pulling Jasper down on the couch with her. I took the bag over to my room, and put on the pair of charcoal pants, the white dress shirt and the black vest with the leather jacket that was hanging inside. I had to admit, I looked pretty fucking good.

Alice fixed my shirt when I came back in, unbuttoning another button on the neck so you could see my black undershirt, and told me to leave the cuffs undone.

"You seem especially dedicated to your passion tonight Alice, what's up?"

"Tonight's special."

"Why?"

"It just is. Let's go!" She spun around and dashed over to the door. Jasper and I both laughed, then followed after her. She bounced in her seat the entire drive, but I didn't bother to pry for info. If she didn't want to tell me, then she wouldn't.

Besides, I felt just as excited as she looked. I wasn't going to let her work tonight, I would stand in that corner with her asking her questions all night to talk to her if I had to.

My heart sank when we walked in and I looked to the corner, and she wasn't there. I scanned the room while walking over to our booth, and slid in beside one of Rosalie's random friends. She _had_ said she only _might_ be here tonight though. Damn.

"Hello to you too Edward," Rose said sarcastically.

"Hey Rose," I said with a bit of a sigh, looking over at her after giving up. "Where's-"

I froze when I looked at the woman between Rose and I. She was wearing a shimmering black dress with long sleeves that hugged her body perfectly down to her small waist, with dark brown leather boots that went halfway up her calves. Her thick mahogany hair was flowing down to her waist in thick, shiny waves.

And she looked fucking pissed.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," she spat, tossing back the rest of her glass of wine. It was replaced by a new one immediately.

"Uhh-"

She glared at me, and I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

She smacked me in the back of the head, _really_ hard, before sliding up on the table, swinging her legs over me, and storming across the room.

The sight of her, sitting on a table on top of me, froze my laughter. I almost grabbed onto her knees to pull her around me. I didn't, but it gave me the chance to realize that she was truly fucking livid.

Fuck fuck fuck. Way to go jackass.

I ran after her and caught up to her quickly, jumping in front of her instead of grabbing onto her. She stopped, and crossed her arms over her chest angrily. I couldn't stop my eyes from trailing over her, committing the image of perfection in front of me to memory. Fuck, she had some awesome legs, I'd never gotten the chance to really see them before, but holy shit.

"You look fucking gorgeous," I told her honestly.

"Fuck you Hollywood."

"I'm serious. I only laughed because of your expression. You're too fucking beautiful to not be smiling, the scowl was just too much for me to handle. I'm sorry."

She watched me suspiciously for another long minute, then sighed. "Laugh at me again, and I'll break your nose," she hissed, then spun to march back to the table.

I followed her like a magnet.

She was stopped before we got to the table by Emmett, who scooped her up into his arms with a booming laugh.

"What the fuck did Rose do to you!" He laughed, hugging her tightly.

"Fuck off and put me down Emmett!"

"What? Can't fight me in a dress and heels princess?"

She punched him in the face, and when he dropped her she landed gracefully on her feet in a crouch before straightening up.

Fuck, that was hot.

"Okay, I guess I deserved that," Emmett laughed, rubbing his face.

"Fucking right."

"Oh well, Happy Birthday!" He hugged her again, and she wrestled to get out of his grip.

"Shhh! Fuck off Emmett!"

He laughed and let her go. She quickly slid into the seat next to me, reaching over and grabbing her glass of wine before knocking half of it back.

"It's your Birthday?" I asked in disbelief. She nodded. "Uhm, may I ask how old you are today?"

She was quiet for a minute. "Twenty-one."

"Seriously?" My voice came back out as more of a shout.

"Yeah seriously, do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all, you just seem a lot older."

"Well, as least I don't look as old as you, old man."

"I'm not old, I'm twenty-seven," I argued.

"Well, _you seem a lot older_," she teased, and I couldn't help laughing. I took another good look at her, and realized my words didn't really ring true. She did look young, and it only took me a moment to figure out why I thought she seemed older.

It was her eyes. They looked like they held too much knowledge for that short amount of time.

Emmett sat down heavily at the table and I looked up at him in surprise before shifting away from Bella a little. He grinned.

"What are you doing here Cullen?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were banned."

My face paled. "Uhh… B lifted the ban like two weeks ago."

"Then why haven't you been at the gym?" He asked, his frown shifting into an immediate grin.

Prick. He knew. He's fucking with me, and loving it.

"You should come back soon, it was nice having you around."

"Oh, uh, okay." He laughed at my fumbling, and I relaxed slightly before looking back at Bella. She was scanning the room, swirling the wine in her glass. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

"Because it was going well while I was trying to ignore it," she said, crossing her legs and finishing her drink. My eyes flickered down to the smooth, pale skin of her legs, and I caught the edge of what looked like a light purple star on the side of her thigh just above her knee.

"You have a tattoo," I blurted out in surprise. She was quiet, and I looked up at her face to find her giving me a calculating look with an amused smile. I felt my face flush red under her gaze.

_Stop being such a fucking girl._

"Yes, I do," she said, still looking for something in my face.

"Can I see?"

She leaned in close to me, the smell of strawberries and white wine blocking out everything else. "I don't think that would be very appropriate," she purred.

"Why do you say that?" My pulse was pounding in my ears in excitement from her proximity. I couldn't stop staring at her lips. I followed her hand down to her leg when she slowly trailed her fingers up her thigh.

"Because it goes up, and up, and up, and if my brother saw me taking off this dress for you in the middle of a club you'd be dead within seconds," she whispered in a low voice, her words slightly slurring at the end.

"Then show me somewhere else," I breathed, leaning back into her.

"Well, you would like that, wouldn't you?" She purred, sitting back up and fucking giggling. A new glass of wine was placed in her hand, and she took a sip without even looking at it.

I couldn't move, my hardness was trying to drill a hole through the bottom of the table in front of me. And by the glint in her eyes, she fucking knew it too.

She winked at me again, and I felt myself growl slightly.

Then it clicked in. Bella was pretty tanked right now. It was her twenty-first birthday, of course she was smashed. I don't even remember the _week_ of my twenty-first birthday.

Normally, that would have made me a little excited, but it didn't. I was worried, she was vulnerable right now, and that idea sickened me.

No, I wouldn't take advantage of her. Of course I wouldn't.

But I was going to sit here and enjoy this rare fucking form of my goddess.

Well, maybe there were a few things I could take advantage of… she seemed like she was in a talkative mood, or at least hoping to be distracted from her… situation at the moment.

"No, I wouldn't mind that in the slightest," I said back in a low voice. She grinned again. "Can you tell me what it is though? My own imagination is driving me insane."

"It's the Scorpius constellation."

"You're a Scorpio?"

"Nope."

"Then why do you have the Scorpius constellation?"

She took another sip of her drink. "Do you know the story of Orion and the scorpion?" I shook my head. "One of the myths is that Orion was this really full-of-himself asshole hunter, thought he was invincible. He boasted to the goddess Artemis that he would kill every animal on the earth. Artemis was a hunter herself, but she respected and offered protection to all creatures. So, naturally, she was pissed the fuck off. So, she sent a scorpion to deal with him. The scorpion killed Orion, and caught the attention of Zeus, who then later raised him to the heavens where he's now immortalized in the stars."

I felt like I was watching the fucking discovery channel, and just started at her, engrossed. She smiled when I didn't say anything.

"It's a symbol. Even the greatest and strongest of hunters is not invincible. Anyone can be killed, and by something as small as the prick of a stinger. The scorpion didn't battle for fame or recognition, he killed for the protection of others. I respect that."

It was hard to push away my thoughts and concentrate on her for a moment. I hated that word; _Hunter_. Every time I heard the word I thought about my first movie, and that fucking psychopath it had been based off of. No one had died in years now though, and I forced myself back to the much brighter thoughts of the gorgeous woman next to me.

"Isn't Orion in the stars too though? It's like, the only constellation I know besides the big dipper," I told her with a grin. She laughed.

"Yes, but that is Artemis' doing as well. Zeus raised him to the starts at her request to serve as a reminder to mortals to curb their excessive pride."

"That's fucking cool. They should make a movie about that," I speculated.

"There are lots of books about it," she pointed out. I grinned.

"Do you have any other tattoos?"

"Hmm," she sat back, and took another sip of her wine. "Where would be the fun in just telling you that? I think it's much more entertaining letting you speculate." I groaned, and she patted me on the shoulder. "Now move over Sherlock, I need to get out."

"Why? Where are you going?"

She laughed. "I need to pee, now get out of my way."

I laughed, and slid out of the booth before offering my hand to help her out.

She didn't even see it. She stood up, swaying the tiniest bit, and then made her way across the room.

I couldn't help staring at her ass swaying back and forth as she walked in those fucking boots. Fuck. I sat back down with a huff.

When I looked up, my face paled. We hadn't been alone, I hadn't even noticed that Rose, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper were all sitting at our table, fucking staring at me. Alice was grinning, and Emmett looked fucking pissed. I couldn't help it; I smiled.

"I'm not going to apologize Emmett. She's the most amazing woman I've ever met, and I'm not going to let her go."

Alice and Rose fucking _awed_ at me.

Emmett smiled, which I wasn't expecting. "You can try all you want man, you have no damn clue what you're getting yourself into. And my rule hasn't fucking changed."

"But all I need is permission?" He nodded. "I can work with that."

We were interrupted by Jasper shooting to his feet, a murderous glare on his face as he looked across the room. We all followed his gaze.

Bella was standing in the middle of the large, crowded dance floor, trying to make her way back over to our table, but there was a giant man blocking her way. She was obviously pissed off, every time she tried to step around him he'd block her path. I couldn't hear what either of them were saying, and when I looked back to the corner where her replacement had been standing, I noticed that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck, Emmett, stop her," Jasper hissed urgently. Emmett shot across the room, and I didn't have to ask what Jasper was talking about.

Bella got fed up and shoved him aside, and when she pushed past him I sprang to my feet when he slapped her ass.

Even tanked, apparently she didn't any help. She spun on her heal, and her arm shot out in a blur as she got him good in the jaw. Emmett was there in the same second, whispering something to her as he held her back, and then pushed her in the direction of our table. She glared at them for a moment before marching back over to our table. She dropped back down in the seat next to Alice, much to my disappointment.

"You okay?" She asked her. Bella rolled her eyes, and I handed her drink when she reached for it.

"Of course, I just can't fucking stand it when people touch me. I should have broken his fucking hand," she hissed.

Alice grinned, reaching forward and poking her slowly, raising an eyebrow. Bella's face relaxed as she laughed. "You know it's different with you Alice," she said, rolling her eyes. She changed the subject quickly. "So! Three fucking weeks Rose! Are you excited?"

Emmett came and sat down beside me, grinning at the empty spot. I looked back out to the dance floor, but the man was gone.

"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes. She was trying to hide her smile. "Did you finish with the guest list?"

"Yeah, they're all checked out. I've got the security set too, not a single camera or phone is going to get in there except for Leah's."

"So we can really do this? You can come and say you're Emmett's sister and everything?" She whispered. I looked over at Jasper worriedly, did he know all of this already? He caught my look and scowled at me.

"I've known B longer than Rose has, she's always safe around me," he said seriously, looking offended.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Whatever."

"Why haven't you sent out invitations?" I asked curiously.

"Because things get lost in the mail, and Emmett tries to stop our last name from being thrown around too much," Bella said.

"And everything for the roof is good?"

"Oh yeah, it's going to look beautiful Rose, don't worry for a second."

"So I'll get the list from you tomorrow and start doing confirmations for the head count," Rose said, bouncing a little excitedly.

"Sure. I'll be home all day."

"Roof?"

"B was able to procure a roof-top terrace for the wedding," Emmett said proudly, grinning at his little sister. She smiled back, then shifted to take her vibrating phone out of her little black purse. Her face blanched.

"Excuse me," she said, jumping to her feet quickly, though unsteadily, and running out of the room through the door behind the bar. Emmett grabbed her purse off of the table and was after her in the same second.

The four of us looked at each other questioningly, then waited quietly for them to come back.

They didn't. Rose got a text message from Emmett five minutes later saying that he was taking Bella home.

"What's going on?" I asked, almost hyperventilating. Something happened to her, who the fuck called her? What did they say? Her words from two weeks ago, her threat to just disappear, echoed hauntingly through my mind.

She watched me sadly for a long moment. "I'm sorry Edward, it's not something I can talk about."

"Is she okay though?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, looking a little lost in her own mind. She didn't answer me.

I couldn't sit here like this for another second, I was going to snap or have a panic attack or some shit. I said goodbye to the others, and texted Riley to send a car early as I left. I'm not sure why I went out through the alley, I didn't even realize what I was doing until I stepped outside.

"B! You need to calm down. Breathe, this isn't your fucking fault!"

"How can you say that it's _not my fault _Emmett? She's fucking dead! And he's still out there!"

"I know sweetie, but-"

"Don't hug me Emmett, I don't want to be fucking coddled right now," she said, pushing away from him and pacing, her hands running through her hair in frustration. The light was dim, but sparkled on her cheeks.

She was fucking crying.

"I need to find him Emmett, he's not going to stop. He_ needs_ to die," her voice was almost hysterical.

"Hey, you can't put this on you. It's not your fault you lived. You've been looking for him for seven years, I know you have, you've made more effort in his case than every other cop in the fucking country combined. You need to stop putting this on yourself. You know dad would say that too, you know I'm right."

"But I- I-…" A violent sob shook through her body, and Emmett caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. She clutched onto him tightly, sobbing against his shirt while he held onto her, smoothing her hair.

"I know. I know. Everything is going to be okay."

I didn't know what to do, they hadn't noticed me, but as soon as I let go of the door to either stay out or go back in, they would know someone was out here. My knee popped when I shifted on the spot, and Bella's head snapped up, meeting my eyes.

She looked… terrified.

Emmett followed her gaze, and sighed when he saw me.

"Why the fuck am I not surprised? How long have you been there?"

"About three minutes. I didn't know what to do," I told them honestly. Bella was turned away from me, wiping at her face. I couldn't stop myself from walking over to her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but wouldn't look at me.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, but thanks." She whispered. The sound of pain in her voice completely broke my heart. I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her, and tell her it was going to be okay.

"What are you doing out here?" Emmett asked.

"I was just heading home. Do you want a ride B?"

She froze, and her eyes went wide, a little delirious even as she moved closer to Emmett. He wrapped an arm around her protectively. "Thanks Edward, but I can't risk any pictures being taken of her like this. The cameras would be all over the two of you if you got into a cab together."

"Oh, okay." I shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. I didn't want to leave her.

I never wanted to leave her, ever.

A car honked at the end of the alley, and Emmett turned around to face it before waving.

"Well, er, we have to go," Emmett said awkwardly, looking between the two of us. Bella turned and started walking away towards the car without looking at me.

"Later, Hollywood," she said in an emotionless voice. Emmett ran to catch up with her.

"Goodnight, Bella," I said quietly to the night as they disappeared into the car and drove off.

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Hmm… what do you think that phone call was about?**

**And what's your favourite constellation? Can you see the stars from where you live?**


	7. Chapter 7

**SM owns Twilight.**

**Do you listen to the songs? It'd be pretty cool if you did. There's a link to the song for this chapter on my profile. The artist is amazing, and has given me a lot of inspiration for this story. I would very much recommend checking it out if you are able. I just need you to picture the intro plucked on a guitar instead of a piano…**

**BTW, has anyone told you how awesome you are yet today? Because you are. Thanks for reading! I'll leave you alone now.**

. . . . . . . . . .

"Seriously Jasper, this has to be the most epic bachelor's party I've ever been to. How long did it take you to plan this?"

"Pff, it was easy," he slurred happily, smiling as he draped an arm around my shoulders and leaned into me. "I suck at this sort of thing, and B knows it," he laughed. "I barely had to do a thing, she gave me a list of phone numbers," he said with a proud, shitfaced grin.

I looked around at the packed private room of the night-club that had been rented out and decorated with a Vegas theme, slot machines, black jack and poker tables, and it seemed like there was a show girl dressed in sequence and feathers on every other table top shaking their asses.

"His sister planned _this_ for him?" I hissed into his ear.

"I know right? God, I wished I had a sister," he laughed loudly. "She's always spoiled him. From what Alice has told me though, this is a freaking Disney movie compared to what she's doing with Rose right now."

"Fuck, I can't wait to see what she did for the wedding," I mused, and he nodded.

"So you're coming?"

"Of course."

"Are you bringing a date?" He asked with a knowing grin.

"Fuck off Jasper."

He laughed, and Emmett dropped down in the seat between us.

"Fuck, I'm going to kill you for doing this to me," he sighed, glaring at Jasper before hiding his face in his hands. Then his head snapped up. "She helped you! Didn't she?" Jasper started giggling like a little girl. "Damn it, I should have known better." He flinched away from a woman in violet sequence who tried to wrap her arms around him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Some women keep big scrapbooks for planning their weddings, not B. She's been planning my fucking bachelor's party for years. Go away!" He shouted at a pair of twins in blue that tried to climb into his lap, making us laugh.

"Only another hour, then we can take you home," Jasper laughed, patting him on the shoulder.

"Why aren't you dancing with anyone?" Emmett asked me, the same fucking knowing glint in his eyes as Jasper.

Fuckers.

"You both know exactly why," I growled. None of these women even existed. As fun as the party was, I just wanted to go home.

Not even home, I want to go where she was, but I had no fucking clue where that was. It had been so long since I was given the chance to talk to her, I barely saw her at the club over the past two weeks, and the times I did, she came nowhere near our group. The desire to be near her hadn't lessened in the slightest though.

"Where's the bachelorette party?"

"At the club. VIP section is closed off to all men tonight," Jasper mused. I sighed.

"Dude, it's fucking weird seeing you mope over my sister. Snap out of it. You'll see her tomorrow."

"Fuck off Emmett."

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"More serious than I've ever been about anything in my life." I looked up to find them both watching me. "What? If you're going to fucking 'warn' me again, save it. I don't fucking care."

"Yeah, I can see that," he stated, watching me with a slight frown before he sighed. "Fuck, she's going to fucking kill me if she ever finds out I told you this."

"Tell me what?"

He watched me for a long minute. "She doesn't date."

That was an odd thing for a brother to say, that his sister only did what, one night stands? "What, you mean like exclusively?"

He looked at me seriously, a hint of irritation in his expression.

"No, I mean like, ever."

I laughed. "You can't be fucking serious."

"I'm completely fucking serious. She doesn't even talk to men, except for the ones that work for her. Which is why it's so fucking weird seeing the way she is with you. She hates men."

"Except for Emmett and I!" Jasper announced proudly, raising his glass up to no one in particular and laughing.

"Yeah." Emmett said. "But we're her fucking brothers and have known her for years," Emmett said pointedly. "I don't know what she thinks about you, but it's obvious she doesn't fucking hate you. That's a rarity. I just thought you should know."

"Oh, well… thanks, I guess." I couldn't bring myself to believe his words. It was unfathomable that a woman like her wouldn't have dated before. Yeah, she was intimidating, but she was smoking hot, chill, funny, caring, feisty…

Those aren't the words that even stuck out the most though.

She hates men.

Why? What happened to her?

And did this have anything to fucking do with that scar on her hip?

I couldn't ask Emmett that, because I knew he wouldn't tell me even if he knew. I had to find out though.

. . . . . . . . . .

I drove down to the address we were texted this afternoon with my parents, parking where Rose told us to then walking down the block together.

"Are you okay sweetie? You seem tense," my mom asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," I said, surprised with how calm my voice came out.

"This seems like an odd place to have a wedding," my father speculated as we walked into the ordinary, yet well-kept apartment complex. There was a giant man, about six-five and close to three hundred pounds, dressed in a black suit and dark shades, standing next to the elevators.

"Wedding?"

"Yes," I said, looking at the man curiously.

"I need to see your IDs."

My father scoffed, but followed my lead when I quickly gave the man my driver's license.

"No electronics, cell phones, or cameras are permitted. I have to ask that you leave them here. They'll be kept safe until you leave."

"Seriously?" My dad sounded a little annoyed. I handed my phone over though and watched as he slipped it into a labeled bag from the table behind him.

"Dad, this is important, just do it."

"Why?"

"Please?"

"I'm a doctor, if there's an emergency-"

"Oh, Doctor Cullen?"

"Yeah."

"One second." He brought his hand to his ear. "Miss Tanner, there's a Doctor Cullen here and- yes, are you sure? Yes ma'am, I will." He looked back at my dad and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Doctor Cullen. Miss Tanner is making an exception for you, but asks that you refrain from taking pictures."

"Okay, that's fine," he said, seeming surprised to have gotten his way. The guard grinned at his curious expression.

"Apparently she owes you a favour, she said that you were the chief of staff at your hospital and understands the obligations with such a title. Please don't misplace her trust."

"Uh, yeah, of course."

The man nodded for us to go through a metal detector and into an elevator. There was another man in an identical suit that hit the button in the elevator for us, and we rode up in silence.

"Who's this Tanner, and why does she owe you a favour?"

"No idea," my father whispered back.

"It isn't Bree Tanner, is it?"

"Esme love, I really don't know," my father said with a sigh, and she nodded while looking deep in thought.

We all paused in surprise when the elevator opened up to the roof top.

"Wow, it's beautiful!" My mom whispered, stepping out into the cool air with a bright smile.

The roof was a giant garden, the trees were glowing like fire with the colours of autumn, and lit up by the strands of white twinkle lights that seemed tied into every tree, shrub and bench. There were ropes of them draped over everything, making a ceiling of stars above us. There were vases of white and red roses covering every surface, along with what seemed like thousands of flickering tea lights. We were escorted by another security guard past the reception area tables to where the seating for the ceremony was. White wicker chairs were arranged in arching rows, separated down the middle by a crimson red runner that led up to a large arbour weaved with more red and white roses. The chairs were filling up quickly, and we took our assigned seats. I was next to my parents, the third row back right next to the aisle.

"Don't you think they went a little overboard with the security?" A woman whispered from behind me. I listened carefully.

"Yeah, I get that they each own big businesses, but it seems a little excessive. I can't believe they took my phone!"

"Did you hear that Emmett's sister is down from Chicago? I heard that she's some sort of mob boss, maybe they're trying to protect us from some kind of gang war?"

I turned around to look at them, and they both froze before smiling brightly at me.

"Oh my god! You're Edward Cullen!"

"Yes, I am," I said evenly.

"They didn't take your phone too, did they?"

"I'm the reason they're taking people's phones," I made up quickly. I didn't trust these women, they were gossipy, and the thought of Bella being endangered from this night made me feel ill.

"Oh, that makes sense," she said, grinning at me. "I guess this place would have gotten swarmed if the paparazzi knew you were here," she purred.

I didn't say anything, but just turned back around and looked up front, ignoring my parents' questioning glances.

The seats seemed full ten minutes later, and the crowd started to quiet down after the minister walked down the aisle. He was followed by a man I didn't know, Jasper, then Emmett who took their positions by the arbour. They were all wearing black tuxedos with crisp white shirts, crimson red vests, and all had a red rose in their lapels.

Everyone turned around when the music started playing, and my mom squealed as Alice walked down the aisle in a dark red dress. It was strapless and looked like silk, and had a white sash that wrapped around her waist and tied into a bow on her back.

My heart stopped when Bella walked out behind her wearing an identical dress. I'd never seen her wear an actual bright color before, and it make her full, red lips stand out even more. Her hair looked darker, almost black and was in thick shiny curls that were partially pinned back, and her eyes looked bigger, darker with the smoky make-up she was wearing. This dress was much shorter than the one she had worn two weeks ago on her birthday, and as she walked by I could see the design of black, blue and violet stars wrapping around her thigh and disappearing up her skirt. If I hadn't been slightly obsessed with her, I probably never would have recognized her.

And that wasn't her only tattoo, that thing was tiny compared to the grey and violet feathered wings that seemed to cover her entire back, and disappeared into her dress.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

I'm pretty sure I actually died for a minute.

She took her place in front of Alice, and leaned in to give Emmett a kiss on the cheek. He hugged her tightly, and when she stepped back the music changed.

Rose walked down the aisle, and the world went silent. She was stunning in her white strapless dress. It hugged her body, flaring out at mid-thigh in ruffles. The back was tied like a corset, the ribbons going from her shoulder blades all the way down past her waist. She was beaming at Emmett as she walked towards him slowly, eyes watering with love and joy as she looked at him.

Emmett looked like he was a blind man who had seen for the first time, tears escaping his eyes as he watched her like she was the only other living being in the universe.

Mom was already crying.

It was a beautiful ceremony, and not very long. The whole crowd laughed and awed when the minister asked for the rings, and Emmett let out an easy cat call. Zeus trotted down the aisle with a white pillow tied to his head, sitting down in between Rose an Emmett who each scratched his ears. They practically sped through their words before lunging at each other and kissing with an inappropriate enthusiasm for public.

They walked back down the aisle together after signing their certificate, followed by Bella and Jasper who were linked arm in arm, then Alice and the man I didn't know. Zeus skipped down the aisle behind them all, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth excitedly.

We were all lead to the seating area then, and there were waiters everywhere carrying trays of champagne, wine and hors d'oeuvres. There were three different bars, and I practically ran to one and pounded back a tall glass of scotch to try and calm myself down. He topped me up immediately, and I went and sat with my parents. Our table was right next to the wedding party's to my excitement.

"That was so beautiful! I need to talk to Rosalie's wedding planner, this is amazing."

"Emmett's sister planned it," I spluttered.

"Oh, the young woman with all the tattoos?"

"Yeah." Those fucking tattoos were going to kill me. I wanted to trace them with my tongue and see if they tasted like strawberries.

"So, we know who this Miss Tanner is then," Carlisle said sadly.

"What's wrong dear?"

"She thinks she owes me…" he whispered, shaking his head sadly.

"For what?"

"She had dislocated her arm a while back, she refused to go the hospital and Alice tricked her into seeing me at her apartment. Thank god too, it had set wrong, she could have had some major, permanent damage. Kid's tuff as nails, didn't shed a single tear. Alice was bawling her eyes out," he said, shaking his head again with a small smile.

"Oh no! What happened to her?"

"No idea."

I had to look away from my parents. I knew exactly what happened to her… and I couldn't tell them a word.

Everyone stood and clapped when the wedding party came back in and took their seats. Rose and Emmett sat down, not taking their eyes off each other for a second and grinning. Bella and Alice were on Rose's side, the groomsmen on Emmett's. As soon as they took their seats, Bella stood up, and was handed a microphone by one of the servers, who she nodded to. She smiled at her brother and his wife, squeezing Rose's shoulder before smiling at the room.

"Hey everyone! Before I say anything else, I think we should all raise our glasses in congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Tanner!" Everyone cheered, raising their glasses before clinking with the others at their tables. "Today is a very special day for me too," she said, turning to look at the smiling newlyweds. "Rose, you've been like a sister to me for years already, but I have to say it feels nice to know that it's official, and to be sharing my name with you. My brother could never have found a more perfect woman. No one has ever been able to keep him in line or put up with his shit like you have. Seeing you two together gives me faith that there is such a thing as true love in this world. I couldn't be happier for either or you, which puts me in a difficult position. So, all I can really say is, if either one of you hurts the other, I'm probably just going to have to kill both of you. So keep your shit together." The room burst into laughter, and she winked at them before tossing the mic over to Jasper. He caught it expertly.

"Emmett and I have been best friends since his sister here introduced us three years ago," he said happily. "When he first introduced me to Rose two years ago, I knew in that exact moment that these two were all in, they were destined for each other. You two balance each other perfectly, I've never seen two people more perfect for each other. Treasure it always guys, and never take it for granted. The love you share is a rare and precious thing, never forget that." He clapped Emmett on the shoulder before tossing the mic over to Alice.

Speeches went on for about an hour, the microphone being handed around the room as everyone told stories about them. I had to admit, I didn't hear too much of it. I was staring and the goddess sitting almost directly across from me.

And she wasn't ignoring me either. Every once in a while she'd catch me watching her, giving me pointed looks back that clearly said '_stop fucking staring at me_.'

Every time, I just mouthed back 'no,' which would sometimes make her smile, and other times roll her eyes in annoyance.

When the speeches wound down, the microphone was given back to Bella, but Jasper waved for her attention quickly.

"Hey, pass the mic." I was able to hear him because our table was so close, and Bella tossed the microphone back over. I wondered if they had practiced tossing it before hand, because they both threw and caught it oddly well. "Do we have a second one of these?" He asked, and someone ran over with a second microphone, and he motioned for him to give it to Bella. She took it with a confused yet indulgent smile. "Hey, B?"

"Yes Jasper?" She said with a bit of a laugh, which was echoed around the roof.

"Do we still have a little time before dinner is served?"

"Eighteen minutes to be exact," she said with a big smile, making an exaggerated motion to look at a watch she wasn't wearing. "Why? What do you want?"

"I was thinking we could give Em and Rose their gift now, because you know…" He coughed out a horribly disguised '_free bar'_, earning a few more laughs.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," she said back with a bright smile, and put down her microphone when she stood up and started walking over to the DJ. A few people were whispering curiously as she pulled out a stool and set it off to the side of the DJ's table, and Jasper started speaking again as she was handed a violin and an acoustic guitar that was wired with an electric receiver, connected to the DJ's equipment.

"Mr. and Mrs. Tanner, would you join us for your first dance as a married couple?" Jasper asked, standing up and bowing with a flourish. Emmett was quick to jump to his feet, scooping up Rosalie and running over with her while she laughed. Jasper followed, sitting on the stool as Bella handed him the guitar, and she took the spot next to him, winking at her brother and Rose.

Jasper started, plucking a soft melody on the guitar that was carried through the invisible speakers that must have been hidden everywhere. After a few bars, Bella lifted the violin to rest against her collarbone, under her chin just as Jasper started strumming softly, and when she brought her bow down on the strings she made that instrument sing. It was more beautiful than any voice, and I found myself incredibly jealous that it was Jasper she was playing with. It only got worse as I thought about how much time they would have spent practicing together. It didn't matter that he was dating my sister, it was a completely irrational anger, but I just so badly wanted to be the one playing with her.

Music, among other things.

It got worse and worse as their beautiful melody went on, hypnotizing me as Bella swayed from side to side, a small, content smile playing on her lips as she played with her eyes closed.

Halfway through she opened her eyes, and met my gaze for a moment with a slightly bigger grin before looking away again quickly.

This woman was killing me, and slowly driving me mad.

Their beautiful song finished, I'd definitely heard the melody before but had no idea what it was called, and they grinned at each other and high-fived when everyone started clapping. Bella and Jasper were quickly pulled into hugs by Emmett and Rose, and when they handed back the instruments some quiet music started up in the background, and severs started bringing out plates as they took their seats once more.

I'm sure the food was delicious, but I didn't taste a thing. It was like the longer I knew her, the more unattainable she became. This woman wasn't fucking human. An angel, a goddess, some dream trapped down on this world and stranded on this mortal plain.

There was no choice though, she had become my passion, everything I strived for and desperately desired. I needed her.

I was trembling in my seat until the plates were cleared away, and Emmett dragged Rose back out to the dance floor. I forced myself to walk over to her slowly, sitting in Rose's seat next to her.

"Hey Hollywood, having fun?"

"No."

"Excuse me?" She looked slightly offended.

"No, I'm not having fun, you've been torturing me all night and I think I'm about to lose myself to the insanity."

She just stared at me, seemingly lost for words.

That was a first. Emmett appeared by my side. "B! Come fucking dance, let's show these guys how it's done!"

"Hell no."

"It's my fucking wedding and you're my only blood relative, you have to dance with me."

"Low blow bro," she sighed, and let him drag her away, shooting me a confused glance.

Fucking Emmett.

He pulled her over to the DJ, and a moment later her head was hung as he led her back to the center of the dance floor that was being vacated quickly, a quick Latin beat scaring most of them off. As they neared the center, Emmett lifted her hand that he was holding, and started spinning her. She followed his lead effortlessly, letting herself be twirled around him until he stopped on a beat and they started to dance together in obvious familiarity. It was fast yet a little conservative for the style, but I think that was more because of the fuckhot dress Bella was wearing. It was a really beautiful dance though, and I don't think they even noticed the applause they got as they shifted into a waltz. My parents, and Alice and Jasper joined them, and I grabbed Rose's hand with a wink before pulling her to join me.

"Congratulations Rose. Emmett's a lucky guy, and he fucking knows it. I hope you guys have a great life together."

She smiled, but I didn't miss the flicker of pain in her eyes. "Thank you Edward."

"And you look gorgeous. This party's pretty awesome." She laughed, and the sound grew as I gave her a quick spin, and seemed to relax a bit more as we continued to dance. The song started to come to a close, but Bella and Emmett caught my eye. They had stopped dancing, and were just hugging each other tightly.

"Maybe you should go get in on that?" I said lightly, and she nodded before giving me a kiss on the cheek and walking over to them. I smiled as she got pulled into their hug.

"Watch out Cullen," Jasper said, using Alice to knock me back. I caught myself before face-planting, and as I turned around Bella almost walked right into me.

She seemed to freeze at the same moment as I did, and I started to get pulled into her warm brown eyes. God, she smelled so good, and she was so beautiful that it was painful to even look at her. I wanted to touch her so badly. I knew she wouldn't dance with me, but I asked anyways. I couldn't help it.

"Can we dance?"

She shifted uncomfortably, looking around. It was an odd behaviour for her, but this whole fucking night was weird. I caught on quickly though, I was starting to know her.

"You don't really like being touched." She stared at me for a moment, then nodded. I'd obviously noticed this, but I'd also noticed that she didn't have as much of a problem when it came to her touching other people. Like she just didn't like losing that bit of control. "What if I let you lead?"

"Seriously?"

"Sure, though I can't promise that I won't take over eventually. If you get uncomfortable though, I'll back off."

She looked ready to bolt to be honest, and I was entranced by the way her teeth caught her plump, bottom lip in between them. She didn't run though, and surprised the shit out of me when she held out her hand to me. Her expression turned slightly teasing as she tried to twirl me, and I indulged her with a smile, ducking under her arm before gently settling my hand on her small, silk-covered waist as her hand rested on my shoulder. At first I just thought she was uncomfortable, but as I felt her body relax, I thought it seemed like she was just uncomfortable _leading_. She gave me the sweetest smile, slightly nervous, shy almost, and I decided then to try and take over. It was fucking weird being led by a girl. I held onto her a little more tightly, just enough to take over the movements, and she let me without missing half a step.

Then, she seemed to relax completely, and the smile on her face almost stopped my heart.

I was fucking dreaming, I knew it. There was no way that the creature letting me hold her in my arms was real.

The music ended too quickly, and when it shifted into something slow her body language completely shifted.

I wasn't going to push my luck.

"How about a drink?" I said, stepping back from her. She relaxed instantly, and smiled before nodding. We walked over to one of the bars together, and I pulled out a chair for her to take. Fuck, every time she smiled at me I worried that I'd just stop breathing.

I sat as close to her as I dared, my back to the party as I tried to make our conversation as private as possible. I wanted to go back to that day at the park, I'd never been so comfortable talking to someone, and the irony that this specific someone tended to make most people uncomfortable didn't escape me. The bartender asked what he could get for us when he finished with another man. He was the other groomsmen, and I really didn't like the way his eyes travelled over Bella before he left. She didn't even acknowledge him with a look though.

"Scotch for me, what would you like?"

"Whiskey sour," she said to the bartender. "A double please."

"Sure thing beauti- uh, yes ma'am," he said, like he just realized who she was.

Smart fucking move bro.

She grinned, and looked back at me.

"You can't blame him, you look fucking stunning," I said, and the man gave me a worried glance that I ignored.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Hollywood."

"Thanks," I said, feeling slightly flustered. _Pull your shit together Cullen._

"God, this is so weird," she said, looking around at the party. I noticed that her hand had a slight shake to it as she knocked back her drink and motioned for another.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just… I'm not used to this. Being around so many people like this, being part of the crowd and not just _watching_ it. It's weird, you know? After a while, you kind of get used to feeling invisible. It's unsettling."

"I can't imagine how fucked up that must feel." I could never picture her being invisible though either, even in her workout clothes, did she not see how she just drew people in with her confidence and beauty? I knew what it was like to have to be invisible though, living a life where it wasn't always safe to try and do normal, everyday things that so many took for granted.

She shrugged. "It's only one night, tomorrow things will go back to normal," she said in an empty voice, scanning the crowd.

"Hey, you need to just shut your mind off for a while and enjoy it, you're stressing me out just looking at you," I laughed. She grinned, then straightened up as she looked over my shoulder.

"Good evening Doctor Cullen," she said politely, giving him a calculating look. He grinned.

"Hi, Bella is it?"

Her face paled, and she looked around worriedly. It was then that I realized that throughout the entire evening, no one had actually used her name. My father had met her before though. Her eyes lingered on the bartender for a few seconds. "Um, just B, actually."

He gave her a curious look. "How's that shoulder?"

She flexed her arm with a smile. "Perfect, thanks."

"Edward, aren't you going to introduce me?" My mom hissed, smacking me.

"Oh, uh, B, this is my mom Esme. Mom, this is Emmett's sister B." I looked at her apologetically, but she gave me an understanding smile.

"It's very nice to meet you dear! You did an amazing job with this party, you've got quite the knack for this sort of thing," she gushed.

"Oh, well actually I think I should be thanking you," she said, smiling shyly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a bit of a fan of yours," she said with a smile. "I was in town for that charity ball you did in central park last summer, it was my inspiration."

Esme gasped, looking around. "Ah! I see it now. Well, you did an excellent job, are you independent or doing this work through a company?"

"Oh, no, this was just a one-time occurrence, for Em and Rose. I don't do this sort of thing often."

"Oh, well that's too bad, you could really make a name in the industry with this talent."

My heart sank. She couldn't make a name anywhere, there were so many things she was capable of doing that would have done it for her easily. She wasn't safe.

And I still didn't know why.

"Well, it was really nice to meet you," mom said, smiling at the two of us, her eyes flickering back and forth between us so quickly that it looked like she was watching a game of badminton on fast-forward. My face flushed red as I gave her a pleading look to cut it out. "We'll leave you two to be, I hope we see each other again soon!" She took my dad's arm and dragged him away with him to talk to my aunt and uncle.

"Fuck, I'm sorry about that, I-"

"Hey," she said, laughing. "Nothing to apologize for. Your parent's seem really nice," she said, watching them with an almost pained look in her eyes. I didn't want her to stop smiling.

"How long have you been playing the violin for?"

"Oh, uhm… since I was about five I guess."

"You're really good," I told her with a bright smile. She gave me a tentative one back.

"Thanks."

"Do you have any more secret talents I should know about?"

She grinned. "You'll just have to wait and find out now, won't you?"

"I'm looking forward to it," I purred, leaning in towards her a little. She shifted in her seat, and I sat back up straight. Fuck, this wasn't easy. I felt like a damn magnet, the urge to touch her was getting physically painful. Not even in a sexual way, I'd be thrilled just to hold her damn hand, and this draw to her was really starting to fuck with me. I felt like shit for making her uncomfortable though. "I'm sorry, I'm trying, but it's hard. I can't stay away from you. You're all I've thought about since that first night I saw you standing in the corner at the club. It's terrifying, but I wouldn't trade these feelings for anything in the world."

"Edward…"

My heart caught in my throat, my pulse pounding in my ears. "Say it again," I whispered.

"What?"

"My name. You never call me by fucking name."

She rolled her eyes.

"Edward," she said with a laugh. I sighed.

"Bella," I whispered, much too low for anyone else to hear. "I want to know you. You already know I'm crazy about you, do you not feel any of this at all?"

She was silent for a long minute. "I never said that," she said quietly, looking back up at me sadly.

"Said what?"

"I've never said that I didn't feel anything for you." My mouth popped open in astonishment, but before my thoughts could run from me she continued speaking. "But whatever this is… it's not fair to you. There's too much that you don't know about me, and the stuff you don't know… you'll be happier keeping it that way. I just… I don't want to hurt you."

"The only thing you could do to hurt me is walking away."

She sighed, and knocked back the rest of her drink. She watched me for a long minute. "No, it isn't."

"Please, just give me a chance. Let me prove to you that I'm not going anywhere."

"How?"

"Tell me why you're in so much danger. What happened to you?"

I saw fear flash through her eyes, but she quickly turned away. No, I was so close, I could feel it. Very slowly, I reached forward and gently placed my hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, but when I didn't pull away, she relaxed after a few seconds.

"Okay."

It was barely a whisper, but I heard it.

"Just… not here. The party should wind down in another hour or two, then-"

She was interrupted by a scream, and I jumped to my feet, tucking her in behind me while I looked for the source of danger.

It was Rose, she looked like she was about to cry, gripping a piece of white paper with trembling hands. She looked over at us, and she and Emmett dashed over. She pushed me out of the way.

"B, what is this?" She cried.

"Calm down Rose, it's just a little wedding present," she said uncomfortably, the whole room was watching them.

Rose stared as her, and then wrapped her arms around her tightly in a hug. "Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you, I can't believe you did this," she sniffled. Bella smiled, closing her eyes and hugging her back.

"Uhm, what's going on?" I asked Emmett, who was watching the two with teary eyes.

"My sister paid for our honeymoon, two weeks at a resort in Fiji. We leave tonight apparently," he said, stepping forward and hugging the two of them.

"But we can't, with the businesses and-"

"I'm taking time off from work while you're gone, I've got them covered, really. You guys have nothing to worry about," she told them seriously.

"Thank you," they told her again. She smiled.

"Sure sure," she said, seeming to get very uncomfortable with the attention. "Alice packed bags for you, they're waiting in a limo downstairs when you two are ready to go. Enjoy the party though, he's not going anywhere."

"When's the flight time?"

"Whenever you get there," she said easily.

"But how-?"

"Don't ask questions, just enjoy it," she said, leaning in and kissing Rose on the cheek. "Now go socialize! You're getting me all wet," she said with a laugh, wiping at Rose's face carefully with a cloth napkin before pushing them away.

No one but me was there to see the pain in her eyes as she watched them walk away.

"That was very generous of you," I said cautiously. She smiled.

"They're all the family I've got, I'd do anything for them," she said quietly. A painful twinge went through my chest. I glared at the security guard that came over and leaned in to whisper something to her. She sighed, and nodded before smiling at me.

"I have to go take care of something," she said, before shifting uncomfortably on her feet. "Uhm… I'm not going to come back and talk to you during the party. It's just, you draw a lot of attention. Sorry. I didn't want you to think I was trying to ignore you or anything." I gave her an understanding nod, making sure not to let my disappointment show, and she gave me an awkward wave then walked away with the man. There was a small group of them cluttered by the elevators, and they walked out together. It made me a little anxious, but Alice came and distracted me by pulling me onto the dance floor with her.

I didn't see her again until the bride and groom announced their departure to everyone, thanking them all for coming and telling them to enjoy the drinks and take advantage of the driving service that was giving free drives home to anyone that needed them. That's when she popped back up out of nowhere, giving them hugs. Rose threw her bouquet from the elevators before Bella left with them, and Jasper was beaming when Alice caught it.

The roof started to clear out quickly after that, and I said goodbye to my parents and sister as they left, but hung back by the bar. I nursed my scotch nervously in anticipation as I waited for her to come back. I was so close to getting the other pieces to the puzzle that was Bella's life, and worried that she might change her mind.

It was obvious that she was hoping I would have changed _my_ mind. There were less than a dozen people left when she came back to meet me.

She looked fucking nervous.

"You're still here."

"Of course, you didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" She gave me a tentative smile. "So, are you ready to get out of here?"

She looked around again. "Yeah, okay." She held out her hand for a second, and I was surprised to see my phone, still in that clear bag. I'd forgotten all about it, but thanked her for it with a smile.

I jumped to my feet and followed after her as she walked over to the DJ, and she grabbed her violin before leading the way over to the stairwell. There was a man standing in front of the door, and he opened it for her when she approached.

"It's still quiet out there, no more photographers came back."

"Thanks Jared. I'm calling it a night. Let everyone know to just go to Sam if anything comes up, he knows how to reach me."

"Of course." He looked over to me. "Is he bothering you?"

She laughed. "Yeah, but I can handle it." He grinned at her, and stepped aside for us to pass through.

I followed behind her silently as she went down one flight of stairs, then exited into an empty white hallway. I watched her curiously as she stopped at the first door on the left, and then knelt down to take off one of her boots. She snapped the heel back and pulled five keys out of little slots that were hidden inside.

"I've never seen shoes like that before," I mused. She grinned.

"Then you haven't looked hard enough," she replied. She undid five different locks on the door then opened it up.

Zeus ran to the door, and started jumping around us excitedly.

"Calm down goofball, you saw me like two hours ago," she said affectionately, rubbing his ears. "Now, go lie down somewhere and chew on something." The giant black beast shot me a warning look, then trotted away.

"You live here?" I asked curiously, following her inside. She kicked off her other shoe, and I fought not to smile as she lost four inches of height.

She was tiny.

"Yeah, I own the building actually," she said uncomfortably. I followed her inside.

It was a gorgeous apartment, but nothing like mine. I guess it was a bachelor's apartment; a long open room with cream walls, and the entire far wall was floor-to-ceiling glass. The wall on the left side of the room was covered in what looked like hundreds of books, the shelves covering everything except for a large fireplace with a flat screen hanging above it. There was a giant, squared sectional couch in front of the entertainment center with a round, glass coffee table. On the other end of the large room was a bed fit for a king. It was a huge, four-poster bed with a fluffy white duvet and a ton a dark purple pillows. The headboard looked like a giant fucking cushion, a dimpled, dark brown leather that matched the colour of the wood.

The image of having her pinned up against it, her small hands gripping into my shoulders as I thrust into her, filled my mind and I tried to quickly shake the fuckawesome image, storing it away for a later date.

I don't know what I had really been expecting Bella's home to look like, maybe something cold and formal like her office at the club, or her attitude towards most people. It was nothing like that though. It was very homey, cozy, mismatched pillows and throws on the couch, pictures and knickknacks all over her walls and shelves. She even had a couple plants.

There was one long metal desk centered along the glass wall with three large computer monitors and a bunch of gadgets that looked like they belonged in a spy movie. One of the monitors were on, and different things kept flashing over the screen. She went over to it immediately, leaning over and inspecting the screen for a moment, clicking on a couple things before standing up and walking back across the room. There was a large open kitchen with a bar next to the front foyer. She stopped at the bar.

"You want something to drink?"

"Uh, sure, whatever you're having."

She grinned, throwing two round ice cubes into two tumblers, and then walked over with the glasses and a giant bottle of eighty-five year-old Chivas Regal. I followed her over to the couch, and sat down as close as I dared to her.

It wasn't close enough.

She poured us each a glass, and downed hers quickly with a shaking hand. I knew she was nervous about this, and though I was pretty excited to finally get some answers, I despised knowing that I was making her uncomfortable.

"You don't need to be nervous Bella, you're not going to scare me away." She nodded once.

"I'm not sure where to start. I've never really just… done this before."

"Done what? Have a drink with someone in your apartment?" I asked teasingly.

She grinned. "Yes actually, Emmett and Rose are the only people that have ever been to my house before," she said with a laugh. "I meant that I've never really..." She huffed, rubbing her hands over her face firmly. She was silent and tense for a long minute before she straightened up, her eyes looking determined yet sort of… vacant. The light from her eyes just fucking disappeared, and for the first time I lost all desire to know anything, and was starting to get filled with a sense of dread. "Fuck it."

She stood up, turned on her TV, and pulled a red book off of one of her shelves. She took a disk out of the book-safe it was apparently hiding, and stuck it into her PlayStation. She walked back over with a remote, clutching the red book tightly to her chest, and sat back down next to me while taking another long drink and topping off her glass again.

I'd have to think about how hot it was seeing her drink scotch another time.

I raised an eyebrow when the start-up menu came on. I knew this movie. It was the first big movie I ever did.

"Bella, why-"

"Please, just watch," she whispered. I frowned, and took another drink when she did. She pulled a blanket down from the back of the couch, and wrapped herself in it while tucking her legs under her.

She was gripping onto that tumbler like her life depended on it, but her expression was blank as she stared at the screen. That look on her face broke my heart, and reminded me too much of the night of her birthday.

I forced myself to watch curiously, trying to see where the point to this was, but doing my best to comply with her wishes. It was a sad movie. The character I played had a younger sister that I was extremely close with. A new guy joined in my year, joined me on the football team and we quickly became friends. We didn't know that he had a secret though. He was stalking my little sister, and one night when I came home, my sister was gone. There was blood all over the white carpet in our living room that trailed out the back door.

And my friend's letterman jacket was sitting on my couch.

Bella paused the movie suddenly, an hour into it. I looked at her curiously. I knew the rest of the story of course, the man had kidnapped my sister, tried to rape her, but I was able to hunt them down and save her. I accidentally killed my friend in my rage when I found him, and got my sister to the hospital. I won a fucking football scholarship.

"This is where things are different," she said in a cold voice, looking at the frozen frame of the blood-stained white carpet. She opened up her red leather book again, and handed me an old, worn letter. My hands started to shake slightly as I read it.

_**Dear Isabella,**_

_**I wanted to extend my thanks to you. Mr. Volturi told me that you chose me to lead in the film personally. The story you wrote was sad yet moving, and I was honoured to be a part of it, and to help in any way that I can to bring this monster to justice.  
I wanted to thank you personally, but I've been told that it wasn't possible. It's a shame, I idolize your work and it would have been an honor to have met you. You've changed my life by giving me this large step towards my dream of becoming an actor, and I'll always be grateful.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Edward Anthony Cullen.**_

I looked up at her in shock.

"How did you get this?" I whispered, part of me already knowing the answer. I remembered the night of her birthday, seeing her crying in the alley.

Victor Hunter had made his first kill in almost two years.

She knocked back the rest of her drink and set the glass on the table. She didn't look at me as she spoke, staring as the trail of blood frozen on the screen.

"Emmett didn't find me. Victor had tried to knock me out first, that's where all the blood had been from, but I guess he just couldn't hit me hard enough. He was able to get me out to his van and tie me up though. Emmett called the police, my dad actually, he was the chief of police in our town, when he found the trail of blood and Victor's jacket. After he… After Victor finished me in his van, he pushed me out of the car while he was driving along the highway and left me for dead. That's the last thing I remember of that night, my face hitting the gravel. I woke up in the hospital two months later. Victor disappeared, they never caught him. I was thirteen, so my identity was protected from the press at least.

"I thought I'd be doing the world a fucking favor if I shared the story. My ending wouldn't sell though, so I wrote a happier one. I thought maybe if I made him famous it would be easier to catch him, but they never did." She finally looked over to me. "All I did was create a serial killer. He's still out there. He's found me a few times in the past... well, a lot of times actually. He must have some contacts in the government, because like I told you, no matter what they did with us he always found me. Until we got out on our own and moved here. The night of my birthday… They found another body. He did the same thing to her, but when he tossed her out of the car, she died. Just like all the others."

She watched my face patiently, waiting for me to say something. I was fucking speechless. What do you say about something like that?

I couldn't think properly. I felt sick, angry- no, furious. I wanted to scream at something, hit and break something. I wanted to hold her and tell her I was sorry, I wanted to hunt him down and kill him, and anyone else that had ever hurt her.

But I forced myself to stay seated where I was, breathing deeply while practically vibrating in anger. I couldn't let myself break in front of her, because no matter how hard this was to hear, it was probably harder to be the one telling it. So we sat there in silence until I could breathe almost calmly again.

"You chose me to play Emmett," I said quietly. She nodded. "Why?"

"Because you had a little sister too. No one else would have been able to understand the role right."

I shook my head. "Nope."

"What?"

"If I had met you, I'd remember you," I stated, positively sure that no matter what, I would have remembered Bella's stunning face.

"We never met, the auditions were sent to me by video."

"Oh, okay." That made sense, I guess. I took a deep breath, I needed to get my thoughts in order, and turned back to look at her.

"It's not your fault that she's dead. Any of them," I told her seriously. I had dealt with this same issue in therapy for years. "This guy is a psychotic asshole, his fucked up actions aren't your fault."

"But if I'd never written the fucking screenplay-"

"No, not even then. Bella, this is _not_ your fault. What happened to you is horrible, unimaginable, but it's not your fault for surviving."

She slumped back into her seat, and turned off the TV. She seemed to curl into herself protectively.

This was not my Bella, the Bella I fell in love with.

But I loved her even more because of this other side of herself. It made her seem more… real. Human. I needed some way to comfort her though. I knew nothing I said could change what had happened to her, all I could really do was try to lighten the mood and distract her.

I huffed, and sat back against the couch heavily. She looked up at me expectantly, and I laughed.

"What?"

"You seriously thought this would scare me away from you?"

She watched me, silently, and I shook my head.

"Wow, you have really underestimated my feelings for you," I said easily, picking up the remote and fiddling with it. "You got any other movies?"

"Aren't you mad that I didn't tell you earlier?" She asked, and I couldn't identify the emotion in her eyes as she looked at me.

I sighed quietly, and didn't break eye contact with her as I answered her honestly. "No. I get why it's something that would be hard to talk about. Besides, I find it incredibly difficult to make myself angry with you," I said with a teasing smirk.

"I've noticed that. You have the patience of a saint."

I laughed loudly. "Only with you. I didn't think I would ever hear someone speak those words about me in this lifetime."

We watched each other for a long moment, and a slow smile started to play with the corner of her delicious-looking mouth before she laughed. I watched that light come back to her eyes as her body relaxed in visible relief. She _had_ thought this was going to scare me away, and was relieved it didn't.

Which meant she didn't want me to leave. Which was pretty fucking awesome.

"So… movie?" I nodded, and she got up, taking the DVD out and opening up a big CD case, and took out something else. She walked away while the movie started, and came back five minutes later wearing a pair of black yoga pants, and a loose white t-shirt with all of her make-up washed off. She curled back up in her blanket, and topped off both our drinks before sitting back.

We sat in comfortable silence for a little while watching it, but I couldn't pay attention to the film. My body was buzzing with her proximity, my mind still spinning from the information. It explained so much, why she'd never dated someone, why she hated being touched by people that she didn't know. Why Emmett was so protective of her, why she had to work so hard to protect her identity and seemed to isolate herself.

But… she was here with me. She told me her secret. She was letting me in.

She half admitted that she felt something for me too.

Very slowly, as to not startle her, I slid closer to her on the couch, and then gently draped my arm over her shoulders.

She stiffened for a long minute, but when I didn't pull away, I felt her slowly start to relax.

Ten minutes later, she leaned into my side, resting her head against my shoulder tentatively.

. . . . . . . . . .

**And now you know. A few of you got pretty close in your guesses! **

**Do you think Edward should just run while he can? Or is he in too deep already? Reviews are awesome, I'd love to hear what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I am not Stephanie Meyer, and therefore do not own Twilight.**

**Songs!****  
****Kids - MGMT****  
****Electric Feel - MGMT**

. . . . . . . . . .

I groaned when I woke up, feeling like I'd been hit in the head with a bat. I squinted my eyes at the bright sunlight pouring over me, and felt the foreign couch that was under me.

This was not my house.

I sat up quickly, scanning the large bright room, the book cases, the wall of glass, the giant bed on the other side of the room…

And Bella, in her kitchen, wearing a pair of pale jeans and a dark violet blouse, her hair in a long braid. Yesterday's events flooded back to me at once, and she looked over at me, giving me a slightly awkward smile.

"Um, hey. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't, the construction site in my brain did," I moaned, giving her a reassuring smile. She chuckled softly.

"Cover your ears then, because this is going to make it worse." I followed her advice before she turned on the blender. I noticed then the thick blanket that had been draped over me, and the fluffy purple pillow that I had been sleeping on. I couldn't help a sleepy grin from spreading over my face.

"Uh, where's your washroom?" I asked awkwardly, looking around. She pointed to her left, at the end of her kitchen next to the area her bed was in.

Fuck, I'd have to walk right past her, and I was at full mast right now.

Like she read my mind, she focused back on washing her hands very thoroughly. I dashed across the room quickly before going back out and joining her in her kitchen.

"You look like shit today, Hollywood," she said with a teasing grin. I laughed, moaning at the pain it shot through my head.

"I know. Sorry for passing out on your couch."

"Don't worry about it," she said easily, setting a big smoothie and some aspirin down in front of me. "Drink, you'll feel better."

I didn't argue, my mouth felt like sandpaper. I sat and watched her quietly while she puttered around her kitchen, cooking bacon, dicing up peppers and onions, grating cheese, and making a bunch of scrambled eggs. I was practically drooling watching her.

So was Zeus. It seemed like she was shooing him out of the kitchen every other minute, and he just kept coming back.

"What? Do you want some cheese?"

He barked at her.

"You know, I really shouldn't give you any. You're going to get fat. Maybe I should get a cat to keep you busy."

As soon as she said the word _cat_ he let out a growl.

"Calm down, you know I'd never do that to you," she said, rolling her eyes at him. She cut another piece of cheese, and looked at him with a smile. He whined and started spinning around in circles.

"If you want some cheddar, give me a hug," she sang, setting the piece of cheese on top of her head and holding out her arms. The giant dog jumped up, taller than she was while standing on his hind legs, and easily grabbed the cheese off of her head before licking her face. Her pealing laughter filled the room.

The sound seemed to completely dissolve my hangover.

She pushed him away, wiping her face on her sleeve before washing her hands, and started putting the food on plates. She set one in front of me, then sat down on one of the stools next to me.

"Thanks, you didn't need to cook me breakfast."

"The salt and protein is good for the hang over."

"You don't look hung over at all."

She shrugged.

"When did you get up?"

"A few hours ago."

"Seriously? Do you even fucking sleep?"

She shrugged again, not really answering.

"So, what are your plans for the day?"

"I gotta stop by the gym and check in on things in a bit, then head into work around eight. What about you?"

"No plans. Would you like some company?"

She looked at me curiously, then sighed. "You don't need to feel obligated to hang out with me Hollywood."

"I don't feel_ obligated_, I'm asking because I enjoy my time more when it's spent around you compared to anyone else."

"Ugh!"

"What?"

"Do you have some sort a secret cache of pick-up lines in your pocket that you're constantly tapping into? Where do you come up with this stuff?"

I laughed. "No, it's just the influence you have on me, my brain and mouth have difficulty communicating in your presence."

She laughed nervously, standing back up and bringing her plate over to the sink.

"So is that a yes?"

"Sure." She turned around to look at me. "I'll bring you by your place so you can get changed first," she said with a grin. She took my plate when I finished without a word, cleaning it quickly.

"You're a really good cook."

"Thanks. It was either learn, or live off of pizza with Emmett and Charlie. They can't boil water without burning it."

"Charlie?"

"Oh, uh… that was my dad."

"Oh… would it be okay if I asked what happened to him? You said you were seventeen when he passed?"

"Yeah, he was shot."

"What happened to you after? You would have still been in high school still, right?"

"No, after the accident, I didn't go back to school. We lived in a really small town, you know, one of those places where everyone knows everyone else's business? I couldn't deal with all the gossip, so I dropped out. I did correspondence instead, got my GED when I was fifteen. Emmett was older, I stayed with him after Charlie passed." She finished drying the plates, put them away, and then turned to face me. "You good to go?"

"Sure."

She walked over to the door and whistled, and Zeus came bounding over. She held up her hand in a stopping motion, and he sat down expectantly while watching her. She attached a leash to his collar, threw on a black leather coat, some black Harley Davidson boots and a pair of sunglasses, and gestured for me to walk out ahead of her.

I frowned watching her close all of the different locks on her heavy door before walking away.

What would it be like to live like this? She has one stalker, I have thousands, but her one is more dangerous to her than all of mine combined.

We rode the elevator down to a parking garage, which she also used a key to operate, and she held the door to her cabin open for Zeus to hop in. I slid in when she did, and the giant dog crawled onto my lap, pressing his face up against the window and licking the glass.

"Sorry, you're kind of in his spot," she said with a laugh. I scratched his ear and he licked my face before scratching at the window.

"I don't mind at all. What's he doing?"

"He wants you to open the window."

I grinned, and obliged, laughing as he hung his head outside of the truck with a very pleased expression.

"What band is this?" I asked, she was tapping along to the music on her steering wheel.

"MGMT."

"They're pretty good."

"I like them. This CD anyways, I had a second of theirs but I didn't care for it."

"What's your favourite track?"

"Five."

I skipped to that number, and smiled at the familiar beat. "I know this song."

She smiled, and pulled up in front of my building. "Just a heads up, there are two photographers outside of your building."

"Oh… what should I do?"

"Whatever you usually do?" She smirked. "Unless you want me to come in and hold your hand?"

_Yes, but just because I want to touch you._ "I mean, what if they get a picture of your truck?"

She adjusted her sunglasses. "My license plate isn't traceable to me. Otherwise I never would have gone with you to LA in it. I'm fine, I just feel kind of guilty dropping you off in a winkled suit so early in the day. You know what they'll think."

"I don't care about that."

"Okay, well hurry up then. We don't want to sit in here all day." I grinned, and watched her for a couple more seconds before walking out.

I didn't even hear the questions they shouted at me, I just pushed through while running inside. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, not bothering to shave, and got changed really quickly, putting on some jeans and a sweater, then booked it back downstairs, putting on my own sunglasses before running back to the truck.

"That didn't take long," she mused, pulling back out.

"Didn't want you to sit here all day," I teased. She rolled her eyes, and I leaned back as Zeus crawled back onto my lap and hung his head out the window, snapping at the air.

He was hot, and I managed to shift down the bench, sitting in between him and Bella in the middle. She laughed.

She parked her truck in Emmett's spot, and Zeus and I followed her in close to her heels.

"Ma'am, you can't bring-" The receptionist started, but Bella took off her sunglasses and glared at the older woman.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry Ma'am, I didn't recognize you. Good morning. Would you like some coffee?"

"No thanks. You?" She looked over her shoulder at me.

I was too jittery already. "No thank you." Bella nodded, and I followed behind her as she took the stairs up to the third floor, nodded to another receptionist, and walked into what I assumed was Emmett's office.

There was an extra-long treadmill in the corner of the room that Zeus ran straight to, then started barking.

"Calm down, give me a second," she mumbled, turning on a computer. When it started lighting up she dashed over and started up the treadmill for him. Fuck, this dog always looked so damn happy. Then again, I would be too if I lived with Bella. I watched her click away at the computer with obvious familiarity, and voiced my curiosity.

"So, what are you doing?"

"Just making sure there aren't any important e-mails, checking some invoices, confirming delivery dates… It's all pretty boring."

"You know how to do all that stuff?"

She laughed. "Yeah."

"How?"

"I built this company, I can do anything that Emmett can here except bench three hundred pounds."

"I thought it was Emmett's company?"

"It is."

"I don't think I follow."

She sighed. "Emmett, he's had to give up a lot because of me, his football career being one of those things. I wanted him to do something he loved, and when we came here… I bought him this gym, and helped him get things started. It's his company, I don't own more than some shares, I just know it really well."

"How do you afford all this shit?" I blurted out. She looked up at me. "Sorry, I guess that's kind of rude. It's just… with your jobs…"

"I have a lot of hobbies that take in some extra cash," she said vaguely.

"Anything illegal?" I asked with a grin.

She bit her lip, and smiled. "I have a different definition of the term 'illegal' than most people," she hedged, getting up and slowing down the treadmill for Zeus. "I feel like I've told you two million things about me in the last day. Let's talk about you."

"What about me?"

"Well, what do you do all day?" I shifted in my seat, and she smiled at me. "Oh, shy now are you?"

"It's just… my life is really boring compared to yours."

"Edward Cullen, big screen movie star, I doubt your life is fucking boring. Come on, tell me." She leaned back in the big chair, propping her feet up on the desk.

"Okay, well… I usually have dinner at my parent's place twice a week. I hang out with Alice about every other day. She's like my best friend, as sad as that is."

"I don't think that's sad."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Emmett's my best friend, and I wouldn't trade that for anything," she said in complete seriousness. I smiled, relaxing slightly.

"We'll, I've only been back two months. When I was in LA my life was completely different, busy, insanely so, but when I came back here… I kind of just let all of my old friends go. I hang out at home a lot, reading manuscripts, playing piano, watching TV, going to the gym. Keeping to myself a lot I guess, but it's kind of a nice change. I don't miss my old life."

"Why did you let your old friends go?"

"Well… I tried to reconnect with them when I moved back, but it always felt more like a press interview than hanging out with friends. It's like they don't see me as a person anymore, they just want to hear gossip about celebrities."

"Well, that blows."

"Yeah."

"Are you looking forward to starting your next movie?"

"I'm not sure to be honest, everything feels different now. It's an awesome script though."

"Do you like being an actor?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but when no words came out I closed it again. I looked up at her, and she watched me patiently. I felt like she was looking right into my damn soul, like she already knew, and that made it that much easier to finally say what I had been fearing to admit to anyone. This was who I was, if I didn't do it, who would I be then?

"I did, it was my dream for so long, hell I've been doing it for almost a decade now, but… everything is just so fake. It's fun sometimes, but I feel like most of the time, it just makes me feel empty almost. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does." She sat up, and leaned over the desk, her head cupped in her hands as her elbows rested on the desk. It puffed up her cheeks a bit, and I grinned, because she just looked fucking adorable. "I know it's none of my business, but if you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't waste your time with it. You can do anything in the world you want to. You only have one life, don't waste it on forcing yourself to do something you don't enjoy."

"I don't know what else I'd do. This had always been it."

"There's never been another profession you were interested in?"

"Apparently when I was four, I wanted to be a fire truck."

She laughed loudly, and Zeus got excited from the sound, jumping up and licking her face. "Hey! Down boy," she laughed, pushing him away and ruffling his fur. She looked at me for another long moment, then took her lap top out of her bag and sat down on the couch that was on the side of the room. "Come sit with me, I want to show you something."

I practically sprinted over, but Zeus wedged himself in between us so I couldn't get as close as I wanted to. She started it up and I watched closely as she went into her book marks menu. She pulled up a site, and handed the laptop to me.

"What's this?"

"It's a tool I use a lot when I have employees looking for another line of work. It's completely anonymous, but you click through and answer a bunch of random questions, and it gives you ideas of careers that might suit you, but more importantly,_ why_ they would suit you. You don't have to do it of course, but it might give you some insight as to what else is out there." She nudged me in the arm. "Or you know, you could just retire early and buy a boat. Travel the world. Isn't that what _normal_ celebrities do?"

I laughed, and looked back down at the screen. I started clicking through the questions, and Bella got up, walked back over to the desk and started clicking away on Emmett's computer again.

It took almost two hours to go through the survey, but she told me not to rush and to take my time, so I did. It was actually kind of fun, or entertaining at least. I frowned when my results came up.

"What's wrong?" She caught my expression quickly.

"These results… they're really weird."

"How so?"

"Come look."

She walked back over, sitting down next to me, and I inconspicuously inhaled her strawberry scent as she leaned over to read.

"EMT, Doctor, musician, actor, mechanic, police officer… What did you do? These all seem pretty fucking disjointed. Though I bet your father would enjoy seeing those first two," she joked.

She was right.

"Mind if I check something?"

"Sure," I went to hand the laptop over to her, but she just reached over my lap and started scrolling where it was, her elbow brushing against my stomach.

"You're passion for having meaningful contributions would make the medical profession more spiritually fulfilling, but your desire for freedom and an artistic outlet is what pulls you towards the arts. You have some technical and problem solving qualities that might make you thrive in some sort of mechanical field." She pointed out all of these things on this statistical graph.

"Oh, hmm."

"But none of that matters."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I get people to do this, it's usually because I think they already know they want to do something, they just don't _know_ that they know. But when they hear it from someone unbiased, like a computer, the answer is a little easier to see. Did any of these things jump out at you like that?"

"Well... they all do, kind of. There's stuff I like about each of them."

"Then do all of them."

I laughed. "Yeah, right."

"What's so funny about that?"

"No one can do all that."

"You're underestimating the power of human ambition Edward." I couldn't help smiling when she said my name. "You can do anything and everything that you want to; you just have to want it enough."

She was wrong. What I wanted more than anything in the world was to kiss her. But I couldn't. She wasn't ready for that, and I couldn't hurt her.

"You hungry? I could really go for a burger right now," she said, standing back up and stretching. The back of her shirt lifted up, and I could see the edges of her wings disappearing into her jeans.

Fuck, I couldn't move this laptop yet.

"Yeah sure, do you mind if I check something here first?"

"Sure, I'll be right back."

She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, and I sighed while leaning back on the couch. I willed my body to relax, and closed the lap top, standing up just as she came back in.

"All good?"

"Yup. Let's go."

I followed her back down the stairs and out to her truck, sliding in next to Zeus after he did his business outside. We went through a drive-through, and I forced her to let me pay this time as we got a bunch of cheeseburgers, fries, and a couple milkshakes. We sat out in the grass while we ate, and we took turns tossing pieces of food to Zeus. He had an excellent catch.

I kept thinking about my next movie. I wasn't sure if I was excited or not anymore, but regardless, I had signed a contract and had to see it through. What really bothered me was the idea of going back to LA for filming.

And being away from her.

I didn't even want to leave for the casting party in two weeks, and I would barely be gone two days. How would I deal with four months?

Would it be weird for me to ask her to accompany me again? Would it be safe? I know she said she was good at hiding her face, and I trusted her judgement, but I felt selfish even asking. Fuck, I just really fucking liked hanging out with her though.

"What's on your mind? You look like you're having a pretty heated discussion with yourself," she asked curiously, popping a few fries into her mouth.

Fucking adorable. I couldn't leave without her.

"I have to go to LA again in a couple weeks. I was wondering if it would be weird to ask you to come again, since we're… like, friends now?"

She shrugged. "If it doesn't overlap with any of my other obligations, I don't mind. Someone needs to protect you from the masses," she said easily, and took a long pull from her drink. "Just because you know my name doesn't mean you're getting a discount though," she teased with a wink.

"Rose said you had done this sort of thing before right? With who?"

"Mostly just Rose herself, although I've helped out a few of her friends who were in a jam."

"Yeah, I've seen how protective you are with her. Is she in trouble or something?"

"She's just important to me." Her curt tone was an obvious signal to drop the subject, and I heeded the warning.

"Okay. So, I can bring you the information for the trip the next time I see you?" She nodded, and I dragged my hand through my hair nervously. "When will that be?"

I saw her try to hide her smile. "When would you like it to be?"

"Tomorrow." I didn't hesitate.

Her hand went to the back of her neck. "Sure, okay. I can come over before I head to the club if you want, say around five?"

"Sounds good."

. . . . . . . . . .

"You have to tighten them in a star formation to keep the pressure even," she instructed, leaning in close to me while I screwed the bolts back onto the wheel. After all five were on, I went back with the wrench and tightened them like she said.

"There."

"Now go over them with this wrench."

"Why?"

"It's a torque wrench, it tightens them to a specific weight."

"Neat." I took the giant wrench with a smile, and grinned up at her when I finished. "What else can we do?"

"Well, the other three wheels for starters," she mused.

"This seems to take a long time, how do they do this on racetracks?"

"Practice, Hollywood. You get faster with time."

"Let me see you do one."

"You sure your ego can handle it?" She teased.

"Try me."

She shook her head, rolled the next tire over to the rear one and set up her jack. She grabbed her wrenches, and looked over at me before starting.

She did it differently. She'd set up her wrench, and had to actually hop on it to loosen the bolts. She loosened each, then knelt down to unscrew each nut, shimmied off the tire, lined up her new one, screwed on the bolts, tightened them, then torqued them.

It took her three minutes.

"Shit."

She grinned. "You want to do the other two?"

"Yeah, I obviously need the practice," I mumbled, and she frowned.

"You don't _have_ to do them Hollywood, I thought you _wanted_ to learn this."

"I do, it's just a little embarrassing. I'm twenty-seven, I should have learned how to change a tire a long time ago."

"Well, better later than never," she said easily, taking out the jack and stacking the tires.

She was so damn easy to be around, now that she was _letting_ me be around her. It had been an amazing two weeks. We saw each other almost every other day, and being with her was as easy as breathing. She might tease me a lot, but she never actually made fun of me. She was an excellent teacher.

She had taken it upon herself to teach me little things about the different fields that had interested me in that survey she had gotten me to take, to see if there was anything about them that I might actually enjoy. She had taught me some basic first aid, how to dress and compress wounds properly, how to do CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, and how to splint a broken bone properly.

It was a little weird, because I'd always been the type to get easily frustrated, especially when there was someone else telling me to do something, but not with her. She had a very soothing effect on me.

And I just loved listening to her talk.

We did other things too though. Went running together in central park with Zeus, ate together. I even took one of her spinning classes. I lost three fucking pounds that day and thought I was going to have a heart attack. Three people threw up in that class.

Apparently they kept coming back for more though. Fucking psychos.

I felt like I was living in a bit of a daze. Bella, being with her… I'd never felt as alive, complete, or fulfilled as I did when I was with her. It made the time I spent with her sort of surreal, and the time I spent without her downright boring.

"So what time does their flight get in at?" I asked, as we carried her tires over to her storage locker in the back of the parking garage.

"Ten-thirty. Are you still coming to dinner at their place tomorrow?"

"Of course. Seven, right?"

"We're eating at seven, you can come earlier if you want."

"What time are you heading over at?"

"Around four."

"Want to ride over together?"

She shifted slightly on her feet. This still wasn't easy for her, this friendship that we had. To be honest, it was weird for me too, because I've never had this sort of friendship with a woman before. But it was much harder for her. She still flinched away a lot if I got too close to her, but she was getting better. I was being patient though, even though it was killing me. I wanted so badly to sit with her like I had that night of the wedding, just to fucking touch her, but her feeling comfortable around me was much more important to me than giving into that craving.

"Okay. I'll send you a text before I head over."

We went back up to her apartment, and used her special orange soap and brushes to get all of the grease off of our hands. I was inspecting her book collection while she got changed, and didn't even hear her come up beside me. I jumped when she spoke.

"Find anything that interests you?"

"I don't know, you have your own fucking library," I teased, looking up at the high shelves. "How do you even get to the ones at the top, are they just decoration?"

My mouth popped open as she easily scaled her book shelf, paused at the top, plucked out a book, then climbed halfway back down before jumping off and landing easily on her feet. She grinned, and handed me the book.

"I think you might like that one, you should give it a go," she said, turning around and walking towards her kitchen. I chased after her.

"You could have fallen! You could break your neck from that height, what if the shelf fell over?"

"Calm down Drama Queen. Those shelves are sturdy as hell, Emmett built them himself and they're anchored heavily into the wall. You'd need a wrecking ball to take those things down."

I sighed, and dropped down onto one of her stools, taking the bottle of water that she handed me. She hopped up onto her counter, her legs swinging below her as she drank her water. She looked like she was going to say something, but every time she opened her mouth she closed it again quickly.

"What's up?"

She shook her head. "No, it's nothing," she said, hopping off of the counter and filling Zeus' bowl. He came barreling into the room, sending kibble all over the floor as he shoved his face into the bowl. She shook her head, and looked back up at me.

Yeah, I could see it. Something was bothering her, and she looked… shy almost?

Weird.

"Something's up, just say it Bella."

"No."

"Stop being such a girl," I said, knowing I was treading into dangerous territory. I was kind of hoping to get a bit of a rise out of her though, she talked more when she was pissed off.

It didn't work, she shifted uncomfortably, then opened her fridge and took out a bag of apples. She dropped the bag on the counter, took out a bowl, and started peeling.

"Whatever you're stressing out over, you're probably blowing it out of proportion in your mind," I said knowingly. "You'll feel better if you just say it, and you know I'm not going anywhere, so I don't see why you're being so nervous."

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

Fuck. I wasn't expecting that.

There was no right answer to that question. At that exact moment, I kind of wished I wasn't so... experienced.

But I couldn't take back the last ten years, and I sure as hell wasn't going to lie to her.

"I'm not sure, actually."

"That many?" She said with an amused grin.

Well, she wasn't looking at me in disgust, at least.

"It's just… There was nothing really worth remembering. I never really connected with any of the women I was with, and they never lasted long. Tanya was the longest relationship I had been in."

"How long?"

"Eight months."

She nodded, and handed me a slice of the apple I was eying in her hand.

She made all food look more appealing, just being next to it.

Apples tasted better when she peeled them.

"Does that… bother you?"

"No, not really. I was kind of expecting your answer to be honest. I just have trouble wrapping my mind around it."

I knew she had never dated any one before, and I knew why. She didn't know I knew though, and I knew that it was something she needed to say out loud to me.

"Why is that?"

"I can't see the appeal in being with someone you don't care for. Yeah, I know guys like sex and everything, but can it really be that enjoyable if you're not enjoying who you're doing it with?"

I tried to push away the nauseous pain that filled my stomach. She'd never dated, but she wasn't a virgin. And that wasn't by her choice. Of course she wouldn't have fucking enjoyed it.

I was going to kill that parasite myself for doing that to my woman. _My Bella._

Oh, but I could show her just how enjoyable it _could_ be… she didn't know it yet, but I knew if she experienced that, she'd be fucking hooked.

And I knew with her, it would be so different. So much _better_.

"It can be… empty. But it can be quite enjoyable too. The aspect of release, it's something that has to be experienced to be understood," I purred.

Her face flamed red. Fucking beautiful. It was a rare sight, seeing her blush or be embarrassed, but it was fucking moving.

"So, what are you making?"

She let out a breath I hadn't noticed her holding, relaxing slightly. "Apple crisp."

"What's that?"

"Stick around and you'll find out," she said easily. I grinned. I'd stay in her apartment for the rest of my life if I was given the option.

I had no desire to go home if she wasn't going to be there with me. It was easier to be at her place, there were never any photographers outside of her building. She always wore sunglasses when she came over to my house, well, when she went anywhere actually.

The apple thing was fucking delicious. It was like an apple pie without the crust, and I hated pie crust. There was this buttery, oat crumble baked on top.

I ate half the thing, but she didn't seem to mind. She actually seemed to enjoy feeding me, and I fucking loved it. If only she would wear an apron.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Hey Zeus! Gimme five!" I said, sliding into her truck when she pulled up in front of my building. The dog was a genius, and quickly lifted his paw to smack my hand before licking my face. "How was your day?"

"Amazing. I started up the new self-defence class today," she said with a bright smile. "Alice seemed to have a blast, that woman has some crazy energy."

"You have no idea, you should have seen her as a kid. Sometimes I would have to hide in my closet to take a nap, just to escape her wrath for a little while."

"Well _I_ love it. It's too bad she's not into running, I bet she'd be really good at it."

"Yeah, she doesn't do sneakers though."

She laughed loudly. "Yeah, so I've learned. And she looked personally offended when I told her she had to do my class in socks."

"Why can't they wear shoes?"

"Because I'm trying to teach these woman how to protect themselves, not give each other concussions while learning new moves. It's a hazard I'm not willing to risk. Besides, they would damage the mats."

"Oh, yeah, I guess I didn't think about that."

She grinned, and I started combing through the bags of groceries at my feet.

"You're cooking tonight?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, it's been a while since Emmett's had a home cooked meal. Fuck, you're going to laugh when you see how tanned he is, looks like a burnt carrot," she said happily.

"Did you tell him about, you know…"

"About what?" She asked curiously.

Yeah, what was this exactly? I was afraid to say the word 'girlfriend,' because I'd probably never see her again. "That we've been hanging out."

"Um, no. I haven't."

I was a little hurt, but knew I probably shouldn't have been. "Why not?"

"Well, what should I have said?"

_Yeah, I didn't quite know how to answer that either._ "I don't know."

She nodded and… fuck, was that a frown?

Should I ask her to be my girlfriend? What if I scared her off?

"Are you embarrassed of me?"

"Why would you ask that?" she asked, glaring at me.

"I don't know, Do you not want your brother to know that we're… friends?"

"No, I don't care what Emmett thinks. I like hanging out with you. Em probably already knows that though." She glanced at me, and shifted in her seat while gripping tightly onto her steering wheel. Zeus growled, sensing her tension, and she relaxed when she reached over to scratch his ears. "I didn't say anything to Em, because it sounded weird in my head just randomly saying 'oh, by the way, I've been hanging out with Edward almost every day since you left.' What am I supposed to say? I'm not stupid enough to make any assumptions."

"Assumptions about what?"

"About whatever the fuck this is."

"You know how I feel about you Bella. That hasn't changed." She didn't say anything. "How do you feel about me?"

I held my breath.

"I… I like spending time with you. You're easy to be around. I'm comfortable around you I guess, but... it's still weird for me. I'm sorry." Her voice was tight, slightly panicked, and I quickly tried to backtrack before she freaked out.

This vulnerable side of her was something I hadn't been expecting when we first started spending time together. It was still rare, but came up occasionally when I pushed her a bit too far.

"Nothing to apologize for," I said easily. That was better than I expected, even if it wasn't the answer I hoped for. "I'm making progress at least. A month ago you probably would have just punched me if I did this." I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, making her tense slightly. "You're still uncomfortable, I get it, but you're not hiding from me, which means everything. I know how hard this is for you, and I appreciate what we have right now."

She mumbled something along the lines of "Fucking Hallmark Card."

I started to get a little nervous when we pulled up to Emmett's building. I knew that his big brother radar would go off as soon as he saw me.

Sure enough, as soon as we walked in and he saw me carrying the grocery bags he shot me a suspicious glare.

I didn't hold it against him, I knew I'd be the same with Alice if we had gone through what they had.

"Edward, looks like you had good timing, getting here at the exact same time as _my sister_." _Glare_.

"I gave him a lift Emmett, stop trying to shoot lasers out of your eyes," she spat, punching him in the arm. He sighed, and followed her into the kitchen. I tiptoed after them, and set the bags on the counter. I felt myself relax slightly when Zeus came and sat beside me, leaning against my leg and putting a paw on my foot.

"Zeus, no," Bella said, shooting him a look. He moved his paw, and looked up at her with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.

"What's wrong?" I asked, a little hurt.

"When he leans on you like that, it's an act of possessiveness, or dominance." She smiled at me. "He's basically saying you're his. If you let him think he's your Alpha, it will just get worse."

"Oh, uh, sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong Hollywood," she said gently. "He likes you. That's a good thing. He just needs to know his place. Dog's like having rules, and knowing what their roles are. It makes it easier to feel fulfilled."

"Are you a dog trainer too?"

"No, I just love Cesar Milan."

I laughed loudly, leaning against the counter, and looked up to find Emmett watching us suspiciously. "So, how was the honeymoon?" I asked, trying to shift the attention away from myself. It worked.

"It was amazing! Awesome food, beautiful beaches, we had this little private villa that you could just walk out onto the beach from, but it had its own private pool too. We swam with dolphins!"

"Where's Rose?" Bella asked curiously, taking things out of the bags.

"She went to see her parents for a bit, said she was going to swing by the club for a minute on the way back. She should be back any time now. What are you making?" He asked excitedly.

"Lasagna," she said with a grin. He beamed, lifting her off the ground in a tight hug and kissing her cheek.

My fists clenched in jealousy.

"I missed you so much baby sis."

"I missed you too Em, now put me down. I need to make the dough." He chuckled, and put her back down on her feet.

"So, what did you do to keep busy while I was gone?" He was asking her, but was watching me.

"A lot of back and forth from the club and the gym, and hanging out with Edward and Alice."

"Since when do you call him Edward?" He spat.

She sighed. "Since the wedding. I told him about Victor."

Emmett's fists clenched at the sound of the name, shaking slightly in anger. "Why did you tell him that?"

"Because we're friends, and I wanted him to understand." She shot me an apologetic look, but I smiled at her reassuringly. I was happy that she was telling Emmett about this. I wanted him to know that I understood, and that I still wasn't going anywhere.

I wanted him to approve of me. He was the most important person in her life, so he was important to me too.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, his tone much more gentle as he watched her closely. She smiled at him.

"I'm good Emmett. You have nothing to worry about." He gave her another hug, and when he looked back over at me… I had trouble narrowing down the emotions in his face.

Worry, confusion, happiness and… relief?

He smiled at me, and I couldn't help grinning back.

I think that was him saying we were good.

"Do you need any help with anything?" Emmett asked her.

"Fuck off."

He laughed, and grabbed two beers out of the fridge, handing one to me.

"Darts?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

We made our way across his large living room, and killed some time with his dart board.

Jasper and Alice arrived shortly after, followed closely by Rose. Jasper joined us in our game while the women sat with Bella in the kitchen and watched her work. I was grinning while listening to my sister tell Rose about the moves she learned the other morning in Bella's class. Rose was showing them pictures from her trip. Bella was just smiling quietly while she worked. She just seemed so… content.

And when I looked around, I realized that her entire life was in this room with her right now. She didn't let many people in, but the people she had chosen… they were all right here.

It put that tight feeling in my chest again. And like she felt my pain, she looked up at me in that exact second, and smiled at me.

The feeling dissolved just like that.

It was really nice, the six of us sitting around the table eating together. Whenever we hung out like this, it was usually at the club, so Bella never sat with us. I sat alone, and watched her from afar. She was right next to me now though, talking to me, smiling. It was amazing.

I thought it was anyways. The four others kept giving us strange looks. They were just going to have to get used to it though, I wasn't going anywhere.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Hmm, so what do you think about this nicer side of Bella? She's trying, very hard.**

**And BTW lovelies, Protector is up if you want to take a look. **

**The MGMT album they were listening to today was Oracular Spectacular, just in case you were wondering!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hmm, last chapter was little fluffy. I'm not quite sure what to refer to this one as.**

**Song!**** Fever by the Black Keys**

**Oh yeah, SM owns twilight. I kept forgetting to say it, but I'm pretty damn sure the entire world already knows that. It's not like I'm trying to infringe or anything.**

**. . . . . . . . . .**

I was a little disappointed when she showed up in her work clothes when she came to pick me up. Her signature black slacks and dark blue blouse. I should have known better than to expect anything else. She took her work so seriously. She was smiling though, a welcomed change to the last time we had done this.

"Hey, you ready?"

"Almost, I'm just trying to find my phone," I said, running back inside.

"Want me to call it?"

"Sure."

"_Everybody was kung-fu fighting…"_

I heard the song go off, and ran back towards her as she pulled the phone out of a pocket of one of my jackets. My ears burned when she handed it to me with a smirk.

"Seriously?"

I hit the end button, ending the song. "Hey, it took me a long time to learn your name. I had to improvise," I said, forcing my voice to be calm. "It suited one of my many nicknames for you."

"Many? How many names did I have?"

I grinned, shaking my head.

"Oh, come on. How many?"

"Nope."

"Then just tell me this one," she argued.

"I called you ninja for a while after seeing what you did to James."

She laughed loudly. "Cool. I like that one."

"So do I," though it was usually 'sexy ninja', 'my ninja', and a select few times 'fucking lesbian ninja.'

She didn't need to know that. And I'm pretty sure she'd go running if she knew about the 'goddess' and 'angel' names that floated through my head so many times. Still did.

She chatted easily about my schedule for the trip as we drove to the airport, then moved on to tell me how Zeus had chewed the handle off of one of her kitchen cupboards when she was late feeding him this morning. I liked this Bella more than work Bella, which is what she switched to as soon as we stepped out of the truck. I didn't bug her about it though, because I was exhausted really. I hadn't been able to sleep last night, knowing that I'd have her constantly for two full days. So I was quiet as we walked through the terminal, Bella on full alert as she scanned the crowds and blocked people from bumping into me or getting too close.

She kind of reminded me of how Zeus was with her.

She relaxed once we were on the plane though, and took a book out of her bag. I copied her, pulling out the book she had lent me the other day.

I had already seen the show that was based off of it, but the book was so different, more in depth, the story so much richer. Having seen the show first helped I think really, there were too many names, I wouldn't have been able to keep track if I hadn't already known them.

"Hey Hollywood, wake up. We're here," her soft voiced whispered, her sweet breath washing over my face.

"Hmm."

"If you don't move, I'll move you myself," she said, her voice sounding amused, yet a little strained. I felt my head move, and my eyes shot open.

I bolted upright, staring at her in horror. I had fallen asleep, on her fucking shoulder. Fuck.

I relaxed slightly as I watched her. She didn't look like she was going to punch me. She seemed kind of amused, actually.

"Sorry."

"No worries. You looked like you needed the sleep," she said, standing up and reaching for the over-head compartment. She jumped to grab it, but apparently couldn't reach.

I valued my life too much to laugh.

"Here, I got it," I said, grabbing our bags. She huffed, but took it and thanked me before leading the way down the aisle.

There was a sleek, black Mustang waiting for us when we got out of the terminal, and she took the keys from the man that was standing next to it before he disappeared into the crowd. We loaded our bags into the truck, Bella watching me like a hawk, before walking me to my door then hopping into her own.

"Who was that?" I asked curiously.

"Who?"

"The guy that gave you the keys." She seemed to have all of these strange connections, and as much as she told me about herself, I still felt like I barely knew her sometimes.

"Oh, his name is Harry. He owns a car rental place here in LA."

"How do you know him?"

"I know his daughter, who runs his other branch in New York. She was in one of my defense classes a couple years ago."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have really impressive networking skills?"

She smirked. "It may have been mentioned to me once or twice. I never forget a face, and I guess people don't usually forget mine either."

"I can definitely see why," I teased, winking at her. She rolled her eyes at me.

We made it to the hotel easily, and I waited quietly while she scanned our room. No bugs this time. We ordered a giant pizza, even convincing the delivery guy to pick us up a case of beer, and hung out playing on the Wii-U that was supplied in our room the entire night.

. . . . . . . . . .

I woke up to a light knocking on my door. I was awake immediately, knowing it could only be once person.

"You can come in," I said over a yawn, sitting up and stretching.

Her eyes flickered over my bare chest briefly, and I couldn't help but grin even though she didn't seem to offer an opinion.

She looked, that was something in itself.

"I'm heading to the gym downstairs, I just wanted to give you a heads up. Sorry for waking you."

"No no, it's cool. Want some company?"

"You don't have to-"

"I want to. I don't want to sit in this room all day, it'd be nice to get some exercise."

"Oh, well, sure then. Take your time, I'll wait in the living room." She shut my door quickly.

I got up and used the washroom before throwing on some shorts and a t-shirt, brushed my teeth, and then met her in the living room. I froze in the hallway. She was wearing those sexy fucking yoga pants, stretching, bent over with her hands flat on the ground. She grinned at me, upside-down through her legs, before standing back up and stretching her arms.

"Ready?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

She skipped over to the front door, and I was once again a little envious of her morning energy. I swear the woman didn't know how to sleep. I had seen her close her eyes twice. The night she dislocated her arm, and the time I grabbed said arm and she passed out in my foyer.

I shuddered at the memory.

She took the stairs down, twenty-five floors, saying that it was a good 'warm-up.' We ran next to each other in comfortable silence for an hour, threw around some medicine balls, and then ran back up the twenty five flights of stairs.

I had a shower, and passed back out in my bed immediately with trembling legs.

Fucking psycho.

I woke up again around one in the afternoon, walking out in my flannel pants and looking around the quiet room for Bella. I eventually found her sitting out on the balcony, staring out at the landscape with a completely vacant look in her eyes. She blinked when I opened the door, and I dropped down on the couch next to her.

"He lives," she teased, grinning at me. "How was your nap?"

"Awesome," I said, covering another yawn. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just enjoying the warm air. It's getting so cold back home, this is a nice treat."

I closed my eyes, leaning back and smiling at the tingling sensation the sun left on my face. "Yeah, it is nice. I don't mind the cold back home though, it's nice having more than one season."

"Are you excited for your party tonight?"

"Would it be horrible for me to say I wasn't?"

"Nope, I always appreciate honesty."

"Well, I'm not dreading it, but I'm not stoked either. They're not always bad, but most of the time it's just a bunch of conceited people getting tanked and talking about themselves."

"Lame."

"Yeah."

"Well, maybe it won't be all bad."

"Oh, I know it won't be_ all_ bad. I'll have you there, after all."

"Very smooth," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks," I told her proudly.

She smiled, and after a moment closed her eyes again, titling her head back to face the sun.

Her beauty never ceased to stun me, but moments like this, when she was relaxed enough to let her guard down slightly, was almost painful. It was hard to look away from her full, red lips. The temptation to just lean in and press my own lips against them was dizzying.

I shifted carefully, lifting my arm and draping it around her shoulders. She froze for a minute, closing her eyes tightly, but she relaxed after a couple minutes and leaned into my side gently. I smiled, closing my eyes and rubbing my thumb in soft circles on her arm.

This moment was perfection. I never wanted it to end.

But like all good things, it did. She got up to have another shower and get changed, and I did likewise once she was done. I joined her in the living room when I finished, wearing the suit Alice had picked out for me for the party. Bella was wearing a black pants-suit with a white blouse, her hair wrapped into a tight bun on the back of her head. She shut her laptop when I came in, and we left to go pick up Tyler.

She was shooting daggers at him through the rear-view mirror the entire drive, her hands clenched into tight fists on her steering wheel, but he didn't seem to really notice.

It was a private party, but the press had already caught wind of it and Bella cleared an angry path for us though the crowd of photographers. I would have preferred to have her here as a date instead of a body guard, but I would take what I could get. Once we were inside, there wasn't anyone for her to protect me from any more though.

"Go socialize Hollywood, I'll be watching," she said easily, turning to walk to the edge of the room.

"You're not going to stay with me?"

She grinned. "No one else is being shadowed in here, but if you really want me to I will, of course."

"Oh, yeah… Sorry, I didn't really think of that." I looked around the room and frowned. "Are you sure you won't be bored?"

"This is what I do. Don't sweat it. Try to enjoy yourself," she said with a knowing smirk, then walked away. I followed her with my eyes until she stopped, standing halfway up on a set of stairs that gave her an easy view of the entire room. She smiled when she saw me watching her, and made a shooing motion with her hand, telling me to mingle.

Well, I guess it's my time to work too.

I fell back into my old routine too easily, smiling and talking effortlessly to my new cast members and production crews. I actually found myself enjoying it.

Until Jessica ran up to me.

She threw her arms around my waist, hugging me tightly.

"Oh Edward! It's been so long, why haven't you called me?"

"Err-"

"Are you still in New York? It's so nice having you back. I'm so excited that we have the opportunity to work together again." I awkwardly wriggled out of her grasp, but she was still beaming up at me. "This is going to be so much fun, I can't wait for that boiler room scene," she purred, making me feel nauseous.

"What part were you cast as?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Anna, the CIA agent, silly. Who else are you going to fuck in the boiler room?"

"No one. I'm not doing that scene. They're getting a body double." What the fuck? Marcus hadn't even mentioned her in the list of actresses we discussed, and Tyler didn't tell me a god damn thing, and he knew how I felt about her.

I was fucking pissed, to be honest. What was he even thinking hiring her?

She pouted, and tried to wrap herself around my arm. I quickly stepped out of her reach though, my eyes flickering over to Bella.

She was watching me with an amused grin. I debated on signalling for her help, but knew she'd tease the hell out of me for it later.

"Aww! Why would you do that?" She whined.

"Because I don't want to do that stuff anymore," I said shortly. "If you'll excuse me, I still have a lot of people left to talk to."

"That's okay, I'll come with you!" She said excitedly, and I sighed, walking away with her glued to my heels.

It took me about twenty minutes to ditch her, and I immediately went looking for Tyler. I couldn't find him, so I went over to Bella. She'd know where anyone was.

"Do you know where Tyler went? I'm going to fucking kill him."

"He went into the bathroom with a blonde woman about fifteen minutes ago," she said easily.

"What?!"

"I take it then you didn't know he's been cheating on Lauren?"

"No, I didn't," I growled. "Wait, how do you know his wife?"

"I did a background check on him," she said in an irritated voice once again. I meant to ask her what her deal with him was today, but she spoke before I could, grinning once more. "Did you know he had to repeat the tenth grade?"

I laughed, relaxing slightly. "No, I didn't actually."

"Well, apparently your agent is really bad at math. I'd be a little careful if I were you."

Fuck, she was so good at calming me down. I dragged my hands through my hair and grinned at her. "So, you bored yet?"

"Nope. I'm good at people watching. Right now, I feel like I'm watching a fucking soap opera. It's entertaining."

"You sure? Because we can leave," I said hopefully.

"Don't be silly, and stop worrying about me. That's _my_ job." She was smiling, but her tone was completely serious. "Oh, I'd book it now if I were you, Jessica Stanley just spotted you."

"Fuck. Okay, I'll see you again in a bit."

I dashed down the stairs again, and disappeared into the crowd before she could catch me. How the hell was I going to survive four months of filming with her?

Maybe I could convince Bella to let me hire her full-time. I wasn't ashamed to say I'd used her as a shield against Jessica. I know with one of her signature death stares, Jessica would never look at me again. The thought made me smile.

But I knew she'd never leave her family, ever. Unlike me, she had a full, busy life outside of our friendship. I could never ask her to give that up. It was too selfish.

The next few hours passed by in a blur. I should have eaten before I came here, because my drinks seemed to go straight to my head. It was a good level of drunk, my entire body feeling light and almost numb. Everyone was being fucking hilarious. I lost count of my glasses. The party didn't start to wind down until three, which is when I stumbled my way over to my ninja statue, who was still in the exact place I had left her when we came in.

"Hey you," I purred, smiling at her. God, she was so pretty. I should talk to Marcus about firing Jess and hiring Bella instead. Sexiest fucking CIA agent in history.

"Hey lush, how you feeling?"

"Mallow," I said, laughing. She grinned.

"You mean _mellow_?"

"No, mAllow, like a _marsh_mallow. All fluffy and shit."

She laughed, shaking her head, and reached out to grab my arm when I swayed backwards. My arm wrapped around her waist, but she shot me a look and easily stepped out of my grasp.

"Sorry," I slurred, frowning. "That wasn't my arm, I swear. Where'd he go!" She rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching up slightly. Phew. _Hands to yourself Cullen!_

"Excuse me?" she said with a laugh.

"Fuck, I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"You sure did," she mused, watching me curiously.

"Shit. Can we leave now?"

"Sure. I think we need to get some food in you," she said, and led me back down the stairs. I kept reaching out to take her hand, her hands were so soft, but I kept stopping myself. I couldn't screw up the progress I had made, though it was physically painful not to be touching her right now.

"Mmm, there's a really awesome deli down the street from here. It's open all night. Can we go there?"

She looked down the almost empty streets worriedly, but consented after a minute. I was practically skipping as we made our way over.

After two sandwiches, a basket of fries, and three giant glasses of water, I was more than ready to pass the fuck out. Bella was picking at her own basket of fries, barely eating as her eyes kept flickering over the room.

"You need to relax, we're not in any danger here," I teased. She didn't smile.

"It's four o-clock on a Saturday morning in Los Angeles. Nothing about that is safe," she said gently. I sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with her. I came here all the time though, or used to anyways. And that was without an escort.

"You good to head back?" I asked around a yawn. She nodded, and was silent and intimidating by my side as we made our way back down to the car.

"Hey! Edward!" Someone shouted from behind me. I turned around and sleepily smiled at the man.

"Hey!"

"Do you know this guy?" Bella whispered. I frowned, squinting at the man when he stopped in front of me. Bella took a step forward.

"Do I know you?"

"No. But apparently you knew my wife," he growled, taking a step forward. My eyes widened at the tone of his voice, adrenaline waking me up completely.

"I, uh… I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person."

"Sir, walk away," Bella growled, stepping in front of me. I reached out to take her shoulder, but she shrugged me off.

"Fuck off bitch, this doesn't concern you," he spat.

"Don't you fucking talk to her like that," I hissed. Bella held out a hand in warning to me.

"Oh, pressed a button, have I?" He mused, and went to push her aside.

She didn't move, but he was knocked back a few feet.

"Sir, leave, or I'm going to have to _make_ you leave," she said in an icy voice.

He didn't listen to her, and lunged. She knocked him back easily, but he caught his footing quickly, falling forward again quickly and swiping at her with his hands.

It was then that I noticed the glint of silver in his hand.

Their whole dance lasted only seconds though, Bella dropping down to the ground and stepping into his hold instead of away. When she shot back up, she brought an elbow to his jaw, causing him to lose his balance, then grabbed the arm that was holding the knife, twisting it quickly with a sickening crunch that was drowned out by his scream. The knife fell to the ground, and the man booked it away in a second, running like his life depended on it. Which it probably did considering the look on Bella's face right now.

"Bell-"

"It's fucking B when we're out here, and you know it. Let's go," she growled, grabbing my arm and dragging me along behind her as she made the way back to the Mustang quickly. She shoved me into my seat, slamming the door, and in seconds she was peeling down the street towards our hotel.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I'm so fucking sorry about-"

"I'm fine," she said, much more calm now that we were in a vehicle that she had control over. "It's not your fault."

"It was my idea to go to that stupid deli-"

"But I agreed to it. Don't put this on yourself. This is my fucking profession, and I'm the one who fucked up. I should have trusted my instincts."

She pulled up to the hotel, tossing the keys to the valet before we made our way inside. We were both silent through the elevator ride, and Bella's tense shoulder's didn't relax until we got back into the room. She walked straight to the bar, pouring herself a stiff drink. I grabbed a bottle of water, and sat down on the couch.

She walked over, shrugging off her jacket, and I almost threw up seeing the blood staining her crisp white blouse.

"Fuck! Bella, are you okay? Wait here, I'll call an ambulance," I said, jumping to my feet, and tripping over absolutely nothing before face planting on the floor. Bella pulled me back up to my feet, sitting me down on the couch again.

"Calm down, I'm fine. It's a scratch, I don't even feel it," she said easily. She walked away without another word, disappearing into her bedroom. I jumped back up, and chased after her, bursting into her room.

"Are you-" I froze, my words catching in my throat. Her back was to me, but she had taken off her shirt. She was standing there in her black pants and a black bra, and with her hair tied up I could see almost her entire tattoo on her back. It was fucking stunning.

"Ever hear of knocking?" She said dryly.

"I'm sorry, but there was so much blood-"

"It was just because I was moving around. It's a scratch, I don't even need stitches. Can you please close the door?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry. I'll just wait outside." I stepped back out, and closed the door. I couldn't even walk away. I leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

She had gotten hurt, protecting _me_. He had a _fucking knife_. He could have killed her, and then… oh god. How could I have asked her to do this? I should be protecting _her_, what the fuck is wrong with me?

"Hey, shhh," her soothing voice whispered. I opened my eyes to see her kneeling in front of me in between my legs, and she hesitantly reached forward and brushed my hair back out of my face. "Edward, it's okay. I'm okay, really."

"It's not okay, you got hurt… because of me. I should never have asked you to do this, it was selfish of me. What sort of man am I? Hiring a woman to protect me, I-"

She slapped me in the face.

"Fuck you Edward. I can do my job just as well, if not better than any man. Get over yourself, this is the twenty-first fucking century. I said I'm fine, now snap the fuck out of it," she hissed.

I didn't even think, I took her face in my hands, pulling her into my chest as I kissed her.

It was so much better than I had ever dreamed; her lips were so soft, sweet like cherries, with a little hint of scotch. It took me a couple seconds to realize what I had done. I almost panicked and pulled away, but her soft hands slid up my stomach, resting gently on my chest as her lips moved against mine.

_She was kissing me back._

And she was fucking good at it. It was the best fucking kiss of my life.

I wrapped my arms around her gently, holding her protectively, but when she started trembling against me I gently pulled away, and smiled up at her. She was staring back at me, confusion and fear in her eyes. I leaned in and kissed her once more, barely brushing her soft lips with mine, before pulling her into my lap and holding her.

"Edward, I-"

"No. You're _mine_ now Bella. I'm never fucking letting you go."

"I-"

"No. I mean it. I know you want this too. Don't fucking argue."

She was silent for a long moment.

"Okay," she whispered. I held onto her a little more tightly.

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Okay, so, too soon? Or were you getting tired of waiting? We'll address what happened pretty quickly next chapter, but I love hearing from you guys!**

**Do you have any tattoos? Do you have an opinion on tattoos? I love them personally, but I only have five.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Almost at three hundred follows! Very cool. You reviewers are freaking awesome though. Thank you so much guys!**

**Music: Stolen Dance by Milky Chance.**

. . . . . . . . . .

I woke up with a pounding headache, drooling from the smell of bacon wafting through the hotel room. Mmm, Bella was cooking.

_Bella._

My eyes shot open. I fucking kissed Bella last night. I told her that she was mine, and she… actually fucking agreed with me.

Holy shit, I actually kissed Bella last night.

How the fuck did I get into my bed?

Was she okay? Did I scare her?

I threw back the covers, running to my bedroom door and realizing that I had full on morning wood. I went to the bathroom quickly, then ran into the kitchen. She jumped when I barreled into the room, flinching when her hand hit the frying pan. I was at her side in a second, taking her hand and inspecting it to make sure she was okay.

She didn't say a word. She didn't move, and she wasn't looking at me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, pulling on her hand. I didn't let go.

"How's your stomach?"

"It's fine." She pulled on her hand again.

"Look at me Bella."

"If you keep up that fucking tone I'm going to punch you in the face," she spat, glaring at me as she twisted her wrist around in a way that easily broke my hold.

I smiled.

There was my Bella.

"Sorry, you scared me."

"Well, so did you. I thought there was a fucking zombie chasing you or something, barreling in like that." She went back to flipping bacon. I looked at her closely, finally taking in her appearance.

I'd never seen her look this dishevelled before. Her ponytail was really messy, and she was wearing a pair of her black yoga pants and a loose, long sleeved, dark grey cotton shirt. There were dark circles under her eyes.

"What's wrong? Did you not sleep last night?"

Nothing.

"Bella, please-"

"You were really drunk last night," she whispered. I watched her quietly for a long minute, and understanding set in.

"You think I don't remember what I did? That I kissed you because I was drunk?" She didn't say anything, and I gently turned her around to face me, tilting her face up with a finger under chin, and I was surprised as fuck when she didn't even flinch. She was tense, but she didn't pull away from me. "I remember everything, and that had nothing to do with alcohol. I kissed you because I've been dreaming of kissing you for months. I said you were mine because I want you to be, I'm never going to let you go, share you, or try to hide my feelings from you anymore. I can't. I need you, and seeing you get hurt last night… it was too much for me. I couldn't stop myself, I didn't want to."

She was searching my eyes for a long quiet moment, and I held her gaze until she spoke.

"You… actually meant it?"

"Yes."

"Are you still drunk?" She asked, a small smile starting to form on her lips.

"No, silly girl," I chuckled, pulling her against my chest and hugging her gently. She felt so fucking small in my arms, and I hated that she was shaking. Fuck, I'm pretty sure I had scared her, and that she didn't fucking sleep last night. After a minute, she slowly wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me back gently. I smiled, inhaling the scent of her hair. She stiffened after a couple seconds though, and I pulled away to look at her. "What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

She grinned, wrinkling her nose. "You need a shower Hollywood. Go get cleaned up. _I'm making waffles_," she said, with a very impressive impersonation of Eddie Murphy. I grinned, walking back out and heading over to the shower.

I _did_ need a shower, but I think she needed a bit of space too, and it was the least I could do to give it to her.

I felt like a completely new person after a long shower and pulling on a pair of jeans and a khaki pullover. I went back out just as Bella was setting out two plates on the table. I dropped down onto my stool, grinning up at her.

"This smells amazing."

"Thanks."

I dug in, moaning as the fluffy waffles melted in my mouth. She was watching me with a smirk. I grinned back.

"You know, for such a feminist, you're awfully good at this home maker stuff," I said, biting off my laugh as her face went an angry shade of red.

Her arm shot out, punching me in the shoulder. Hard.

"Fuck you Cullen." She grabbed her plate, walking over to the living room with it. I skipped after her, dropping down next to her on the couch.

She looked fucking adorable with that scowl.

"Come on, you know I'm just teasing you."

"No, you were trying to piss me off, and it worked," she growled. I froze, thinking maybe I had pushed her a little too far. My stomach sank.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

She grinned at me, and took a big bite of her waffle.

"You fucking player." She winked at me, and went back to eating her breakfast. I laughed before turning my attention back to my own plate. I took our dishes when she finished, and she seemed shocked by the action. "You cooked, I'll clean. Why don't you grab a shower? I've never seen your hair this messy before," I teased, ruffling her hair. She flinched the slightest bit, but then she swatted at me playfully before she got up and walked over to her room.

We left quickly after she came out, dressed in her usual work clothes with her hair in a tight bun. It felt like the plane was taking off only seconds later.

"You have a bad habit of setting off the metal detectors," I teased. I was curious though, she was four for four now, and it didn't really make sense with her organized nature.

"Yeah… I can't really help it. I have some metal pins in my hip."

"What? Why?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"The accident. They had to rebuild my pelvis."

I nodded numbly, and we were both quiet for a long minute. I was trying to reign in my anger.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a joke about it," I told her guiltily.

"Don't worry about it," she said easily. "Emmett calls me a cyborg whenever we fly." She seemed to find that funny, but I couldn't bring myself to laugh. I _didn't_ find it fucking funny, and tried to think of something else to talk about. She was fiddling with a button on her sleeve.

"You know, I'm surprised Alice hasn't burned all of your pants-suits yet," I mused with a forced smile.

"There's a reason she's never been to my house before," she laughed.

"You were serious about that?"

"Yeah… you're the only person who knows where I live except for Emmett and Rose," she whispered guiltily. "It's not that I don't trust her, because I do, it's just-"

"Hey, it's okay," I said, reaching out and taking her hand. She stiffened, her eyes darting around the cabin, and I quickly let go. "Sorry," I said sheepishly. "You don't need to apologize though. I understand. And Alice wouldn't take it personally. As long as you're still talking to her she's going to be happy. She wouldn't hold that against you."

She gave me a tentative smile, and a small nod. I grinned at her, and looked around to make sure no one was watching or listening to us before leaning in close to her. She gave me a speculative look.

"So. You're my girlfriend," I told her, just in case she hadn't figured that out yet.

"Excuse me?" She squeaked, the colour draining out of her face. My smile grew.

"You said you were mine. That means you're my girlfriend, B," I told her in an obvious voice. She just stared at me. "Are you going to tell Emmett and Rose?"

"Uhm…" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was so funny seeing this shy, nervous version of herself that was so rare. I would never laugh at her for this though, I just thought it was cute.

"What's the big deal?" I asked, knowing for her, that it _was_ a big deal. I wasn't going to sit back and pretend nothing happened though. Keeping my distance from her in public for her own safety was one thing, but not around our friends, our family.

"It's just… I've… never really had a boyfriend before," she whispered.

I shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with that," I said easily.

"I don't really know what this entails. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing."

"That's okay. We'll figure it out as we go. I just want to be with you, I don't care about anything else."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You know Emmett's going to punch you in the face."

"It'll be worth it," I told her truthfully. She laughed, and relaxed in her chair once more.

"Okay, I'll tell them."

"I think I should be there when you do."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want them to think I'm hiding behind you. I don't want you to protect me, I want to be there to protect _you_. I'm proud that you're mine, I don't want to hide that from the few people I'm permitted to not hide it from."

She looked at me guiltily again. "You know how this is going to have to be, right? It won't change anything. You still can't use my name, or tell people we're together. We can't go out on normal dates or hold hands in public or any of that other crap. Are you sure you want to-"

"Yes," I said immediately, not needing her to finish. "I don't care about that. I'm much happier hiding in one of our apartments compared to a restaurant or whatever. We've been going out as friends for a while. I can keep that up. I'll behave, I swear."

She let out a soft sigh. "Okay… can you just promise me one thing?"

"Anything."

"If it gets to be too much, just... talk to me about it?"

I thought about that for a moment, trying to figure out her meaning. She was looking at me like she was ready for me to bolt at any minute. Did she think this would be too much for me?

I had to admit, I was a little worried it would be too much for _her_.

"Sure, if you promise me the same thing."

"Okay."

. . . . . . . . . .

I didn't sleep a single fucking second last night, my entire body buzzing with a nervous excitement.

_Calm the fuck down. Emmett knows you like her, and you've hung out with him like a hundred times. We're friends._

He's not actually going to kill me.

Why couldn't I believe my own words?

I lost track of how many coffees I had this afternoon, and was starting to get nauseous from my body's shaking while I paced around in my apartment. I eventually dropped down on my piano bench out of exhaustion, and the familiar feeling of the ivory under my hands instantly started to sooth me.

Just like Bella. The thought made me smile, and I brushed my fingers gently over the keys. One note stood out in my mind, and I hit it again before moving up. My fingers started to move on their own, morphing into the song before I even realized there _was_ a song.

It was the song Bella had played at Rose's wedding.

I smiled, playing with it, but I couldn't remember the whole melody in my head. I pulled up some sheet music on my android, and started learning more of the song.

It made me miss her even more.

With a sigh, I stepped away from the piano, calling Riley to send my driver so I could go see my muse in person.

I felt myself starting to calm as soon as I stepped into her building. Going in through the garage and taking the service elevator like we usually did. Just in case someone recognized her in a picture with me, we didn't want them to be able to use me to know where she lived. No one could see me get in this way.

I paused when I stopped outside of her door, listening to the soft, muted sound of her violin. I closed my eyes, leaning against the door to listen to it. It was a very gentle song, something so beautiful that it shook your soul and made it hard to breathe.

I wasn't close enough, I needed to be next to her. I knocked on the door, and the music stopped abruptly.

I waited a few seconds, grinning up at the security camera above her door, then listened to her undo all the locks before opening it.

"Hey Hollywood. You're early."

"I missed you," I said, stepping inside. Saliva pooled in my mouth. "Fuck, what are you cooking? It smells amazing."

"Oh, I have a peppercorn sauce simmering right now," she said with a grin, closing the door behind me. Zeus bounded over, and started jumping in circles around me excitedly. She sighed, and went over to her stove to turn it off. "I was just about to take him up to the roof, want to come?"

"Yes," I said quickly. She opened the door back up, letting Zeus run into the hallway ahead of us before going up the stairs.

He started running around in giant circles on the roof, chasing pigeons, and I sat down next to Bella on a small outdoor couch. I watched her while she watched him with an adoring smile.

Her long hair was in a straight pony tail, and today she was wearing a pair of skinny jeans with a slightly baggy Led Zeppelin t-shirt. So beautiful. I watched her thumbs fiddling with the hem of her shirt, and reached out to gently take one of her soft hands.

She didn't even freeze up. She smiled at me, and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. That one little action, this tiny difference that was not tiny in the slightest, filled me with joy.

"So how was your day today?"

"It was pretty good. Played with Zeus in the park for a bit, did some grocery shopping. Nothing too exciting. Yours?" She looked up at me, and grinned. "You look like shit today, Hollywood."

I grinned, dragging my hand through my hair. "Yeah, I didn't really sleep much, then ended up drinking about a fish tank worth of coffee."

"I don't see how you can drink that stuff, it doesn't even taste good. And you know it's not healthy."

"I don't think the amount of bacon you eat is healthy," I teased. She laughed.

"I always run it off right afterwards anyways. There is nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite," she said, stomach rumbling. "Hmm, speaking of food," she said patting her flat stomach. She brought two fingers up to her lips, whistling loudly, and Zeus bounded over. "How about a snack boy? What do you think about that?" His tail started thumping on the ground loudly in excitement while he grinned up at her.

She didn't let go of my hand while we walked back down to her apartment.

I settled in on her couch with a rye and coke. She came and sat with me twenty minutes later with a giant plate of nachos, and turned on her Netflix. I scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tucking her into my side. I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye before she leaned her head against me.

"This is perfection," I breathed quietly, closing my eyes and smiling. Bella laughed.

"What?"

I grinned down at her. "I've never been as happy as I am now, sitting here like this with you. It's amazing."

My words seemed to confuse her for a second, but she smiled back at me after a minute, reaching up and taking my hand that was hanging over her shoulder hesitantly. "I feel the same way," she whispered quietly. "I like this, being with you like this."

Her words sent a flood of warmth through my chest, making my smile grow even bigger, and my pulse started pounding loudly in my ears. I was filled with a nervous excitement and I slowly leaned in towards her soft lips.

Then there was a knock on the door.

I sighed dramatically, making her laugh as she stood up and walked over to the door. I looked over at the monitor on her desk, and saw Emmett and Rose standing in the hallway, waving at the screen with big smiles.

Fuck. I had forgotten about them for a moment. I sat up straight, and forced myself not to fidget as I heard the door open.

"Bells! Fuck, it smells delicious in here. Is that your peppercorn sauce? What's the special occasion?"

The two of them froze when they walked in, and saw me sitting on the couch. They stared at me, wide-eyed, not saying anything for a moment.

"What would you guys like to drink?" Bella asked casually, voice utter calm. I was forcing myself to breathe.

"What's _he_ doing here?"

"We're hanging out, having dinner," she said obviously. She bit her lip, trying to hide an amused grin.

Bella won't let him kill me. She won't. Calm the fuck down. You've been punched in the face before, you'll survive.

I've never been hit by someone as big as _Emmett _though.

"You told him where you live?" Rose asked. She was smiling excitedly at me, while Emmett was still blinking, probably waiting to see if I would disappear.

"Yeah, he's known for a while, actually."

"How long?" Emmett asked, not taking his eyes off of me.

"Since your wedding."

"So, you really told him everything?"

Bella walked over and sat down next to me again, Rose followed, leaving Emmett where he was.

"Yeah."

Rose looked nervous, giving Bella a strange look. "Did you tell him about… me?"

"No, of course not," she scoffed, leaning in and kissing her cheek. Rose relaxed.

I wasn't going to ask. Not now anyways.

Emmett came down and sat next to Rose. "So, what does this mean?"

Bella looked over at me, a flash of nervousness in her eyes. It was my turn to be the calm one. I smiled at her, and reached out to take her hand in mine. She relaxed, smiling back, and we both looked back to them.

Rose had tears in her eyes, smiling brightly.

Emmett looked… resigned.

"Well, I can't say this is a complete surprise," he sighed, leaning back against the couch. My eyes went wide.

"That's it?"

"What's it?"

"You're not going to punch me?"

He grinned. "Not today Cullen. There are no promises about tomorrow though," he said with a smile. I laughed, and relaxed against the couch. "Looks like you're in the circle of trust now Fucker, don't screw it up."

"I won't."

Well, that went better than expected. Bella gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Awesome. So, drinks? You want a daiquiri Rose?"

"That sounds lovely," she said, still smiling at me.

"Emmett?"

"Beer is fine."

Bella got back up, hopping over the back of the couch gracefully and walking over to her bar. She came back five minutes later with drinks, even a fresh one for me, before going back over to the kitchen. I flinched when the apartment was filled with a loud pounding noise, looking over to see her beating chicken breasts with a big rubber mallet.

"So, what's for dinner?" Emmett asked excitedly, craning his head also.

"Mushroom stuffed chicken," she called.

"Fucking A," he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Hey Cullen, pass the remote, there's a game on," he said easily. I tossed him the remote, and he switched it over to cable with obvious familiarity as he put on a football game.

We ate in the living room, stuffing ourselves on a feast of amazing chicken, roasted potatoes and steamed cauliflower with string beans. That sauce was fucking amazing beyond words, I wanted to drink it. By the time we finished dinner and some awesome fruit flan, Bella and Rose were on their third pitcher of strawberry daiquiris, and were whispering to each other loudly and giggling. When I scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her, she easily took my hand again, rubbing circles on the back of it with her thumb. Emmett didn't even give me a dirty look. He smiled, actually, and gave me an inconspicuous, approving nod.

We were good.

I helped her with the dishes once they left, drying for her while she washed. She had a goofy smile on her face, swaying slightly where she stood.

"Bella, I do believe you are quite tanked right now," I mused with a smile. I'd had a few drinks, but they didn't have much of an effect on me after the feast I'd eaten.

"You would be right in that assumption," she said, grinning at me.

"I always thought it was kind of weird. You just turned twenty-one, and you already had this giant, fancy bar."

She laughed. "Are you saying you never had a drink before you were twenty-one?" She asked knowingly. I smiled. "I started college when I was fifteen, early exposure to the whole scene I guess. I was never a lush, I only drink on my own time, I never touch the stuff if I'm working."

"Fifteen? When did you finish? What were you taking?"

She frowned slightly. "I started with taking criminal law and computer sciences, but about two months after I started Victor started sending letters to my classrooms. I withdrew and went back into correspondence from home. I got my law degree in a year and a half."

The glass I was holding shattered in my hand. Fucking prick.

"Shit! Edward, what the fuck," she shouted, taking my hand carefully. Zeus ran into the room. "Zeus! Go to your spot!" she ordered, and he retreated quickly as she dragged me over to her washroom. She sat me down on the edge of her Jacuzzi, and pulled a big first aid kit out from under her sink before kneeling down in front of me.

"Sorry, it's just… thinking about was he did to you, it makes me fucking livid."

"It's okay," she said in a gentle voice, pulling pieces of glass out of my hand with a pair of tweezers. "I'm sorry I said it, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, don't you fucking apologize. I don't want you to ever... it's not your fault that ass-" I hissed when she started cleaning the cuts with the alcohol swabs.

"Don't be such a baby," she teased, grinning up at me.

"Hey, that fucking stings," I said defensively. She rolled her eyes at me, making me grin.

Yup, not the coddling type. But she could be sweet, when she wanted to be. She finished cleaning up the cuts, using these little sticker-stitches to close the bigger ones, before putting Polysporin on my palm and wrapping it up.

"So, you have a law degree and an EMT license, anything else?"

"I don't actually have a licence as an EMT. My law degree is the only program I actually ever finished. I took a lot of other stuff for fun though. I've done some business courses, computer programming, some accounting… and my Librarian technician courses."

"Fuck, where'd you find the time for all of that?"

"You end up with a lot of spare time when you're not able to leave your house or make any friends," she said quietly.

"Oh… yeah. Sorry."

"Stop apologizing for things that are completely out of your control," she said seriously, shooting me a look. I smiled, and nodded.

"How did you afford all of that stuff? How did you get into security?"

We walked back over to her kitchen where she started cleaning up the broken glass on the floor.

"Well, I made a lot off of that screen play I wrote, that was more than enough to pay for my schooling. I had some scholarships too. Then my dad died, and he had a pretty big life insurance policy, being a cop and all. I had started taking karate, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing with Emmett after I got released from the hospital, and took to it pretty quickly. It was like therapy, punching shit calmed me down. I made a lot of contacts through all of my schooling and competitions, and when we moved… I used a big chunk of my savings to buy Emmett the gym, started teaching my own classes while doing some private investigator work on the side. I got a few offers to do some security work, and found out that I was good at it. When I met Rose, and introduced her to Emmett, I helped her get her business set up and accepted the job happily when she offered for me to run her security." She looked up at me when I didn't say anything, and gave me a suspicious look. "What?"

"You're fucking incredible. You know that, right?" She rolled her eyes, and finished putting away the dishes. "I'm serious," I said, turning her back to look at me and backing her into the counter. "The passion and drive you have for life is fucking inspirational Bella. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. I still struggle on a daily basis to believe that you're even real."

She gave me a strained smile. "You're sweet, but I don't know what do to with your intense compliments. They're a little hard to absorb," she said, her voice a little nervous.

"You don't have to do anything with them except for believe them, because I'd never fucking lie to you."

She swallowed loudly, and nodded once, looking up at me with those big, nervous, beautiful chocolate eyes. I wanted to kiss her so badly, but she was drunk, and I wanted our relationship to be stronger than that. Next time we kissed, we were both going to be fucking sober.

So I gave her a gentle smile, and leaned in to kiss her forehead softly instead, and felt her relax when I wrapped my arms around her.

. . . . . . . . . .

**They're both trying hard. How do you think they're doing so far?**

Bella's Strawberry Daiquiri's

1 can Strawberry Passion Fruitopia concentrate  
2 cups fresh or frozen Strawberries  
White Rum  
Ice

Pour Juice concentrate into blender. Use empty can to measure out your rum, or whatever liquor you prefer! Then use can to measure out two cups of ice. Add Strawberries, blend. Take a slice of orange, and slide around rim of glass, dip in sugar. Sit orange slice onto rim of glass, pour, and serve!

**I'm not trying to encourage you to drink or anything, but I love Strawberry Daiquiris. A lot. What do you drink?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! I just wanted to say: ****Holy shit.**** I'm really, really loving these lovely reviews. You guys are amazing for taking the time, every single one of them makes me smile. It also made me want to post sooner, because, well, you get me all excited to share this story with you. So here you go!**

**Music? Edward's playing the piano for Bella today, a cover of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. I'll put a link on my profile for those that want a visual... of the audio. Audisual? Whatever, it sounds nice.**

. . . . . . . . . .

I wasn't expecting this. How weird it would be coming into the club and watching her work, now that we were… _dating_, I thought with a smile. Really, this was _almost_ as new for me as it was for her. I'd never had this sort of relationship with someone before. Without, well, you know... sex. I'd never really dated someone that I'd been friends with first either. This connection with Bella had nothing to do with sex though, I just fucking loved her.

I'd never had this sort of connection, this _draw_, to _anyone_ before.

And I couldn't stop myself from watching her like I always had. To most of the room she seemed her own sort of invisible; silent, still, yet deadly as she stood in the corner of the room, watching the floor like a hawk with that serious expression. I stopped breathing every time I saw her dart out of her position, breaking up (usually)almost-fist fights, dragging away guys that got too touchy with some of the women on the dance floor, peeling aggressive drinkers away from the bar when they started trying to pick fights with the bartenders. She was the same as she had always been, from that first day I saw her.

But now, her eyes would flicker to me every once in a while, and when she met my watchful gaze, she would give me a small smile.

She was B here. No one else knew my Bella. They saw a deadly ninja, but when I looked at her, I saw my angel. They didn't know that she smelled like strawberries, or how soft her hands were, or how small she really was when she wasn't wearing those large boots and standing with her oddly perfect, intimidating posture.

They didn't know how soft her lips were, how she created indescribable art on her violin, how gentle she was when she tended to someone's mood, or how selfless her love for her family was.

No one else has ever seen the way she blushes when I tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.

My phone buzzed, and I picked it up quickly.

**_Stop trying to distract me Hollywood, I'm trying to work here._**

I laughed, and winked at her when I looked back up. She rolled her eyes before they went back to scanning the floor.

"What's so funny?" Rose asked, giving me a knowing smile and looking over at Bella. She had a hand on her ear, and was talking into her fancy watch.

"Nothing. Hey, would you guys want to come over for dinner at my place tomorrow?" I asked, taking another sip of my water.

"You're not cooking, are you?" Alice asked, wrinkling her nose. I laughed.

"No."

"Okay then, I'm down. Jazz?"

"Sounds good," he said easily, twirling a piece of her hair around one of his fingers while smiling at her. Every time I saw them, I had the urge to look at her hand and make sure she wasn't wearing a ring.

Any fucking day now, I could feel it. Their love was kind of hard to look at directly.

So I looked back over at Bella again. She had a slight scowl on her face, and although I hated seeing her looking any kind of upset, it was also fucking sexy.

I haven't gotten laid in four months. My right hand, that was still wrapped up in bandages from yesterday, had a perpetual cramp in it. I knew this would be more than worth the fucking wait though. I just had to be patient, and I was fine with that. I ran my hand through my hair, a frustrated habit of mine, and flinched from the sharp pain the motion sent through my palm.

"What happened to your hand?"

I looked over at Jasper in surprise, he had a concerned expression on his face. "Oh, I gripped onto a glass too hard yesterday. It's fine, just stings a little bit."

"Did you go see dad?"

"No, it's nothing, really." I had nurse Bella taking care of me. I felt a goofy grin spread across my face.

"So, any news for your work?" Emmett asked, a strange expression on his face.

"Oh, umm… The premiere is still set for the end of January, I have to go on a two week promotion tour. There's no date set yet for shooting the next film though."

"And your filming, when it starts, where does that take place?"

"LA and London."

"How long will it take?"

"About four months," I said dejectedly, looking back over at Bella. She seemed to be having a heated discussion with one of her bouncers. "It won't be solid though, a few days on then a few days off. I'll be coming back here for all of my downtime." Even if it was only one day off, I would still fly down just to see her for an hour. There was no choice in the matter, really. I had to. Just thinking about it made me feel sick.

Why the fuck did I sign for this movie again?

When I looked back over to Emmett, he was looking back over at his sister, watching her with a worried expression.

I still needed to talk to her about it.

Soon. And everything was going to be okay. We would make it work. We had to. We'd been 'dating' for six days, but I've known I couldn't live without her for much longer.

Alice and Jasper left early, and I was left alone with Emmett when Bella took Rose away to talk to her about something. It put a knot in my stomach when she didn't look at me when she came over.

"Have you talked to her about your filming yet?" Emmett asked quietly.

"Not yet. She knows, but we haven't talked about it. I will though, as soon as I get the chance." Emmett sighed. "What?"

He watched me for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

His resemblance to Bella in that moment was uncanny.

"I can't help but worry about her, you have a sister, you know how it is," he said seriously. "B, she might not seem like a very emotional person, but..." He sighed, and looked back up at me with sad eyes. "She let you in, which I'm still trying to wrap my mind around. That means more than you know. I'm worried about what it will do to her if you leave. She'd never say it out loud, but I know it's going to hurt her."

"Emmett, I'm going to be honest with you. I've regretted signing that contract since the moment I came home. I don't want to leave, but I don't have a choice in the matter anymore. It's not going to change anything though, I'm going to do everything in my fucking power to make this work. I don't want to hurt her, just thinking about being away from her for more than a day makes me sick. I've even thought about asking her to come with me, but I know that she'll say no."

He didn't argue with me, so I knew even more in that moment that I was right. She wouldn't leave New York.

"You're a good guy Edward," he said quietly, resting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad she's giving you a chance. Just don't make her regret it."

"Never."

Rose came back, dropping into the booth with a huff.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. One of my bouncers got a concussion, B had to take him to the hospital."

"Why didn't she just get someone else to take him?" I asked curiously, a little hurt that she didn't come say goodbye to me.

"Because she takes these things personally. She feels responsible that one of her men was injured under her watch. That woman puts too much on herself, I swear, she's going to go grey before she hits twenty-five," she said sadly.

I couldn't argue with that, but even with grey hair she'd still be fucking gorgeous. It was the stress that worried me. How long could she keep up this sort of lifestyle? I don't know where she found all of the energy, the woman didn't even drink caffeine.

I went home with a pit in my stomach, watching my phone the entire time. As soon as I walked in through my door, it buzzed.

**_Sorry for taking off without saying goodbye, I had to see to one of my guys. Are we still on for tomorrow?_**

I smiled, releasing a deep breath.

**_Of course, and don't worry about it. I don't want you to worry about me while you're working, I know it's not fair for me to try and distract you from your job, but I just can't stay away._**

Her reply was quick.

**_I don't mind. It's nice having you around. Goodnight Hollywood._**

**_Goodnight beautiful._**

I fell asleep easily after that, with a smile on my face.

. . . . . . . . . .

I was in an amazing mood. Excited, because I knew Alice was going to lose her shit when I told her Bella and I were dating. I would have told her last night, but I wanted us to do it together. Bella was like her best friend now, and I knew she was going to be ecstatic.

This time when the six of us hung out, there would be no fifth-wheel vibes. We were all together now. I wasn't alone.

The fact that Bella was going to cook me dinner in my own kitchen didn't help lessen my excitement.

I spent the entire morning scrubbing my apartment from top to bottom, even though my cleaning lady had been in two days ago, made sure my bar fridge was stocked up, and even went grocery shopping though Bella told me I didn't need to get anything. I just ended up buying liquor, my bar was in pretty bad shape.

I tried to read when I ran out of things to do, but I was too restless. I changed three times before I settled on a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt. It was an outfit Bella would approve of. Afterwards, I ended up sitting down in front of my piano, and used my music to drain out some of my mental restlessness. I got lost in the vibrations of the sound that filled my apartment and my mind, closing my eyes as I let the emotions transfer into the ivory as a means of escape. Excitement, nervousness, my underlying fear and worry for the future, but most dominantly, my immeasurable happiness.

"That was beautiful," she whispered from directly behind me, making me jump and clutch at my chest. She smiled. "Sorry, your door was open, and I couldn't bring myself to interrupt," she said with a smile.

I was having trouble finding my words while looking at the angel who magically appeared before me. Her hair was tied into a thick braid that hung over one of her shoulders, and she was wearing a denim skirt with black tights and a white cotton shirt with baggy sleeves. She sat down next to me on the small wooden bench, and I could feel her body heat radiating against me with this proximity. "Can you play something else?" She asked hopefully.

As if I could deny her anything.

I smiled at her before turning back to the keys and moving into an actual song. Whenever my eyes flickered over to her next to me, I saw her watching my fingers with an engrossed, pleased smile.

"How was your day off?" I asked her quietly, not breaking my rhythm in the melody.

"It was good. I didn't get home until six this morning, and ended up sleeping most of the day," she said sheepishly, watching my face.

"You look stunning," I whispered in a deep voice, shifting into a different song. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked back down at the keys as I played with a small smile. I glanced over at the clock, and saw that it was only two. "You're early," I stated happily.

She looked back up at me. "I missed you," she whispered, not breaking eye contact. My grin split my face.

"I'm glad. I was going crazy waiting for you. I even washed my toilet."

She laughed, pushing my shoulder playfully before getting back up. I followed her over to my kitchen, and helped her to start unloading the bags of food that she brought. She looked at my hand as I handed her a pepper, and she gasped.

"Edward! Why haven't you changed the bandage on your hand? It's filthy, you're going to get an infection!"

"Oh, uhmmm… it feels fine, I guess I didn't even think about it." She shook her head, and sat me down at my kitchen table before grabbing her big black purse. She sat it down on the table, and took a first aid kit out of it. "Why do you keep a first aid kit in your purse?"

"Just in case," she said absently, and started taking the bandages off of my hand. She sighed, relaxing as she inspected the cuts. "They're not infected, you're lucky. You should change this twice a day though," she said. She cleaned my hand with alcohol swabs, taking off the temporary stitches that were no longer needed apparently, before putting on some anti-bacterial ointment and wrapping my hand back up. "There, good as new."

"Thanks. I'll pick up some stuff for it tomorrow," I said, inspecting her handiwork.

"I'll just leave this one here for you," she said, throwing out the used supplies before washing her hands and then the table.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I buy in bulk, and am not lacking in medical supplies at home," she said easily. She paused, looking around my kitchen.

"What's wrong?"

She grinned. "I don't know where anything is, I've never used your kitchen before."

I jumped up to my feet. "What do you need?"

I got her the cutting boards, bowls, knives and dishes that she needed, and leaned against the counter and watched while she worked. She wouldn't let me help, saying she didn't want me to get anything on my fresh bandages.

I knew her well enough to know that she just didn't like people fucking with her groove in the kitchen though.

She cut up a bunch of beef and chicken, peppers, onions, lettuce and tomatoes, then started making tortilla bread. I'd never once seen her use a recipe.

Mom was going to adore her.

She opened up one of the cupboards, and stretched up on the tips of her toes trying to reach for one of the large plates on the top shelf. She was about half an inch too short though. I grinned, walking up behind her, and rested a hand on her waist while reaching over her to grab it easily. She jumped, but didn't move away. I set the plate down on the counter in front of her, and kept my hand on her waist as she turned around to face me.

"T-thanks," she said quietly, her sweet breath washing over me. I smiled at her, just enjoying looking at her this closely. I reached up with my other hand, brushing my thumb over her warm cheek while getting lost in her eyes. She relaxed, and smiled back up at me.

It was like gravity, the force that pulled my face down to hers, brushing my lips against hers softly. My body was buzzing with that odd electricity that came with her touch, making every atom of my body flare with life. My arms wrapped around her small waist, holding her against me as I leaned her into the counter. Her hands slid up my chest, my neck, and into my hair as she leaned into the kiss.

It was her lips that became more forceful as she pulled my face more into hers, her hands gripping into my hair. It shot adrenaline through my body, and my hands slid up her ribs before I lifted her up easily, setting her down on the counter so she was closer to my height. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I crushed her against me, and we were both gasping for ragged breaths through our kisses. Her mouth opened against mine, and she let out a soft moan as I traced the tip of my tongue along her bottom lip.

She seemed to scare herself with the noise she made, flinching back and clapping her hands over her mouth in horror. I grinned, grabbing her wrists and pinning them against the cupboard before kissing her again. She didn't fight me off, letting out a sigh as my lips trailed across her jaw to just below her ear.

"Don't be scared, and definitely not embarrassed, because that was sexy as hell," I growled, nibbling on her ear lobe gently. She fucking giggled, and I nuzzled my face into her neck while wrapping my arms around her.

Best fucking kiss in the history of the universe.

And now that I had finally kissed her good and proper-like, I felt safe letting myself have a drink. I stepped back, setting her back on the floor, and giving her one more gentle kiss before letting her go. "Would you like a drink?" I asked hesitantly. My manners were warring with my fear of letting her drive home. She seemed to catch onto my hesitation immediately. She smiled before walking back over to her dough.

"I took a cab over, and I'm getting a drive home with Em later."

I sighed in relief. "What would you like? I make a pretty mean martini."

"Sounds good 007," she said with a grin, and started rolling out more balls of dough. I chuckled, and walked over to my bar. After I set her drink down next to her, I couldn't help wrapping my arms around her waist and watching over her shoulder as she worked. She leaned into my embrace with a smile.

That's when Alice blew in through my door. "Edward, I'm-" She gasped, taking in the scene in front of her, me standing behind Bella with my arms wrapped around her.

Then she screamed.

"Oh my god! I knew it! _I knew it_! Didn't I tell you Jazz?"

"I'm pretty sure _I_ told _you_ first," he teased, wrapping his arms around her and grinning at us. I stepped back from Bella, rubbing my hand on her back lightly before going over to give my sister a hug.

"Can I get you guys something to drink?" I asked, walking back over to the bar. I made another martini for Alice, and handed Jasper a beer as they took a seat at the island. I leaned against the counter next to Bella while she finished cleaning.

"So how long has this been going on for?" My sister asked excitedly, her eyes flickering between the two of us.

"Just a couple days," I told her, though it felt anything but. I wanted to kiss her again so badly, but something told me she wasn't the type to appreciate PDA. Jasper jumped at the chance to help her cook the tortillas, grinning like a kid at Christmas as he flipped the flat breads over on the skillet.

"Do you remember two Christmases ago?" He asked her with a grin. She laughed loudly, smacking him on the shoulder.

"You've come a long way, grasshopper," she teased.

"What happened two Christmases ago?" Alice asked curiously.

"The four of us were having dinner at Emmett's, and when Zeus stole the pie, Bella ran out to get another one at the store. She called and asked me to turn on the pot of water on the stove for her."

"He turned on the wrong pot though, one that had oil in it for the stuffing. They didn't even notice the two-foot flames that were coming out of the pot when I came back in. They almost burnt down the building."

"Bella taught me how to use a fire extinguisher for the first time that day," Jasper said with a laugh. We all joined in. It was a little strange though, it was easy to forget that even though Alice and I were related to Rose, we were the new ones in our little group. The others have known each other for years.

I was a little jealous.

"Did mom and dad tell you that they're going to Connecticut for Thanks-giving?" Alice asked, I shook my head.

"No, they never mentioned it," I said.

"Oh, well they just decided yesterday. Grandpa's having one of his big shin-digs again."

"Are you going?"

"No, they're going for the week, and I can't take that much time off of work. It's too close to the release of my winter line." She didn't ask me, we both knew I wouldn't be going over to my grandfather's house.

"You guys are more than welcome to come over to my place for Thanks-giving if you want," Bella said shyly. "I always cook enough to feed an army."

"Your place, as in your apartment?" Alice asked excitedly. Bella nodded, and I saw that her shoulders were tensed.

She was trying to let them in more, and she was scared. I moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, and felt her relax.

"I'd love to!" Alice cheered excitedly, "Jazz?"

"Sounds awesome. I'd never turn down a chance for Bella's mashed potatoes," he said with a grin, making her roll her eyes.

Emmett and Rose came in not long afterwards, and I set the table while Bella started cooking. Within half an hour we were all sitting together feasting on the best fajitas I've ever had. Emmett got that worried look on his face again when Bella told them that she'd be doing Thanksgiving at her house, but he seemed happy at the same time.

I understood that look. He was worried about her getting hurt, but relieved that she was trying harder to just… live.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Edward, hey!" Jasper said, running over from the display of civil war soldiers he was fixing. He punched me in the shoulder lightly, our own manly version of a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey man," I said happily, glad that he didn't seem to mind me visiting him at work. "I was just in the area, thought I'd swing by and see what it is that you do all day. I had to admit, I thought it would be exciting, but here I find you playing with dolls," I teased.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said dryly, walking back over to the display. "We just got these in from a donor, but the medals are all wrong. I can't believe they just put them out like this without checking with me first," he said in an annoyed tone. I laughed. He looked back over at me, and gave me a curious look before smiling. "You're here to surprise B, aren't you?"

Busted.

"Do you think she would mind? I'm thinking I maybe should have checked with her first," I said nervously. He laughed at me.

Asshole.

"I doubt it. Do you know where she is?"

"Not a fucking clue. All I know is that she works for the Library."

"Fourth floor, east wing," he said easily. "She does a lot of running around, but that's where her desk is."

"Thanks man."

"Hey Edward…"

"Yeah?"

"Since you're here… I was wondering if I could get your dad's phone number?"

I looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

He sighed, then laughed nervously as he pulled a small white box out of his pants pocket. He opened it up to show me a beautiful ring. A small emerald ringed in diamonds on a thin gold band.

"Fuck," I said, staring at the ring for a long moment before sighing. "Give me your phone."

He handed it over with a shaking hand, taking the ring back before I programmed my father's number into it. He seemed surprised when I handed it back to him.

"You're… you're okay with this? You're not pissed?"

"Nope. Honestly, I've been checking my sister's left hand every time I've seen her for the last month. I knew it was only a matter of time." He stared at me, wide eyed. I grinned, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, I get that it's kind of fast, but I know exactly how much that sort of love can flip around your entire world Jasper. She's never been happier than she is with you. You guys were made for each other."

His eyes watered a little bit before he crushed me into a hug, and I patted his back awkwardly. "Thanks. It means the world to hear that from you."

"No problem." He grinned at me, before we both straightened up and punched each other a couple times. I fled quickly, making my way to the other end of the museum.

I hadn't been in here since I was a child, and got lost for about an hour before finally finding my way to the place Jasper had directed me to.

There were four different desks in the area, but I couldn't find anything to identify one as Bella's. I didn't even know what her writing looked like, she always typed things. I stopped at the most organized desk, and smelt the faintest hint of strawberries. I couldn't see her coat or anything though, and the name plate on the side of the desk said "Bree T." The name did ring a bell. I decided to just look around for a little bit while I waited for her to get back, taking in the place where Bella spent every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The amount of literature in here was intimidating, and had a sort of lost-in-time beauty about it.

"No, the shipment should have arrived last week. There are some- no, Ma'am, please let me finish,- there's a book in there that's almost four-hundred years old. Even with the protective casing, if its container is left in a place in the sun for too long the delicate ink might dissolve. It's imperative that I receive the tracking information for the shipment." I followed the sound of her voice excitedly, grinning when I saw her.

Her hair was in a messy bun, and she was wearing a black pencil skirt with a fitted white blouse, bending over to reach for something out of the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet. She stood back up with a folder and slid the drawer shut with one of her black ankle boots.

Why didn't she dress like this more often, and why had I waited so long to come visit her at her work?

"Thank you Melanie, I really appreciate your help. Have a nice afternoon." She typed a new number into her little black phone. "Hello? Hi, this is Bree Tanner calling from The Historical Society of New York, I'd like to run a trace on a shipment number if possible. Yes, the container number is 7786 tango bravo 224. The shipment should have arrived last week." She was tapping her foot while she waited, and it sounded like she sighed in relief. "Thank you very much, I really appreciate the help. Have a nice afternoon." She turned around, smiling to herself, and I felt my pants tighten when I saw her face.

She was wearing a pair of fucking glasses.

I was dating a sexy Librarian. God damn it.

Her eyes went wide for a moment when she saw me standing there, but a bright smile quickly took over her face, making my heart stutter. "Hey Hollywood, what are you doing here?"

I just stared.

"Edward? Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned voice, walking up to me in those sexy boots.

"I need you to take those glasses off."

"What? Why?"

"Cause I can barely fucking think looking at you right now."

She laughed, and took off her glasses, looked around the room, and dug her sunglasses out of her purse before putting them on. I immediately felt guilty; she wasn't trying to fuck with me, she was trying to protect her identity so she could keep her fucking job. She sat down on the polished wood of her desk, crossing her legs as she looked up at me. I could see the edges of a couple stars on her thigh.

"So, to what do I owe this surprise?" She asked curiously, grinning at me.

"I just wanted to surprise you, and I was curious about where you work. I hope you don't mind?" I asked nervously.

"Not at all, it's a very pleasant surprise," she said easily. She glanced down at her watch. "I still have another hour, but you're welcome to stick around if you'd like."

"I'd like that," I said in relief. "So… Bree?"

"Yeah, I guess we've never really talked about her, have we?" She mused, looking around the room. It was silent. "We can talk after work," she assured me.

She gave me a tour of her wing, explaining to me what she did. She specialized in antique literature, and I was engrossed listening to her tell me about some of their more famous pieces. She even got me to put on some special white gloves, and let me hold a book that was almost three hundred years old.

. . .

"So what, you have like, an alter ego for each one of your jobs?" I asked, my eyes trailing over her again as we drove through town in her truck.

"I guess, it makes it harder for people to recognize me in different places. If someone that knew me from the club saw me at the library they wouldn't recognize me right away."

"It's a shame, you should dress like this more often." Her cheeks flushed slightly as she smiled nervously, and I had to stop myself from sliding over and kissing her right there.

I could only kiss her inside one of our apartments. And only when we were alone. It was hard, but it was more than worth it.

"So, Bree Tanner?" I asked curiously.

"It's the false identity I go by now. Emmett kept his first name this time, but we changed both of my names. We keep the same last name though, just to make things easier if one of us were to end up in the hospital."

"So your real name _is_ Bella, right?"

She grinned. "Yeah. Well, it's Isabella, but everyone always called me Bella. Our real last name is Swan."

"Is it hard, having to use a fake name?"

"Yes and no. I've had this name for almost three years now, so I'm used to it. I rarely even give out my fake name though, just to stay on the safe side. I've been doing that since I was fourteen though, it's only the last name that bothers me really." She was fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat now, and I decided not to ask more questions at the moment. Baby steps, that was probably hard for her to share. "Uhm, I have to stop at the grocery store to pick up stuff for tomorrow… do you want me to drop you off first?"

"Why?"

"It's just… you look especially Edward-Cullen-like today. In case you didn't want any pictures of you walking around a grocery store with a woman," she said uncomfortably. I looked down at myself, with my designer jeans, white shirt and a black vest. I wasn't quite sure what especially Edward-Cullen-like meant. I didn't spare it much thought to that though, I was concentrating more on the other part of her sentence.

"You think I'd be _embarrassed_ to be seen with you?" I asked in disbelief. She didn't say anything. "Bella, I feel like the luckiest man in the fucking world to have you as my girlfriend. The only reason I'm not shouting your name from the rooftops is for your own safety. I thought you knew that?" It was strange seeing her looking so… unsure of herself. Had I somehow given her the impression that I wasn't absolutely insane for her? I opened her glove box, and handed her the pair of giant sunglasses that she wore to hide her face when we went out together. She smiled and took them.

I loved these rare moments, getting to do something so… normal, with my girl. I couldn't keep the grin off of my face as I pushed the shopping cart, watching as she inspected vegetables and walked through the aisles picking up ingredients with obvious certainty. She was a very efficient shopper.

"Do you have any Thanksgiving favourites?" She asked me curiously. She had handed a receipt to the butcher, and he had gone into the back to grab something for her.

"Turkey. All I want is turkey," I said with a big smile. She grinned at me.

"Well, Mr. Cullen, you're in for quite a treat then." I looked over to see the butcher walking over with one of the biggest turkeys I'd ever seen. She reached up over the counter to grab it, and I caught her just in time as she almost fell backwards from the weight of it, my glasses falling off from the sudden movement.

That's when the photos started, as I stood there with my arms wrapped around my beautiful girl, a giant turkey wedged between us. I took the bird from her, put it into the cart, and walked over to the two men who were clicking away.

"Nice catch Cullen, she's-hey!"

I stepped on both of their phones, tossed them each a few hundred dollars for the damage, and told Bella to go wait in the truck for me while I paid for the groceries. Thankfully, no one but the butcher had seen the incident, and he gave me an approving nod.

I went out to the truck, loaded the bags into the bed, then climbed into the cabin.

"Edward, I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"Hey," I said gently, sliding over and rubbing my hand on her back. "That wasn't your fault, I should be apologizing to you. The pictures don't exist anymore, so no harm done, right?" She turned her head towards me, but I couldn't read her expression with those giant glasses. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it was just weird… usually I'm the one that gets to break things," she said with a small smile, making me laugh. "I hesitated, I felt… off, being in that situation while being in these clothes. I kind of forgot for a moment, you know? It was nice getting to do something so normal with you." She looked back out the windshield. "I'm sorry that you can't have a normal relationship with me Edward."

"I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world. Do I wish I could hold your hand and kiss you in public? Yeah, but if I could then you'd probably never be able to pry me off of you, and I'm clingy enough as it is." She laughed. "But Bella, I love what we have. This connection. I'm happy, I just hate seeing you sad. I wish there was more I could do for you."

"You do so much more for me than you could ever know," she told me back quietly, then started up the truck.

"Can I come over? I don't want you attempting to lift that dinosaur again," I said teasingly. She smiled while she nodded. I pulled out her big CD case and started thumbing through the collection.

She took a sharp turn, tires squealing, and my head collided with the window.

"Shit, sorry, are you okay?" She asked, taking off her sunglasses. Her eyes were flickering between me and the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, what was that?"

"Someone's following us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they've stayed three cars behind us since the grocery store and just ran a red light."

"Fuck, I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay. I got this," she said easily. "Brace yourself, cowboy." I grabbed onto the door quickly as she took another sharp right, and then an immediate left, effortlessly weaving through the traffic.

"Let me guess, defensive driving course?"

"No, just a lot of GTA," she said.

"Is that a joke?" I still had a hard time deciphering her sarcasm sometimes.

"Nope. There's a red garage door opener in my glove box, can you take it out?" There were four different ones in there, but only one was red. I showed it to her and she nodded. "Hit it after I take the next right."

She took the turn, and I hit the button. She quickly pulled into a parking garage, and the door closed behind us.

"Where are we?"

"Jasper's building," she said, pulling into a parking spot.

He was going to marry my sister, I don't know why it made me jealous when she talked about him, but it fucking did. "What are we doing here?"

She gave me a small smile. "He's out today, I'm just going to switch cars with him. If they're out there waiting, they'll be looking for my truck."

She stepped out of the truck after stuffing some more things from her glove box into her purse, and took out another set of keys. When she clicked it, the black Mazda with tinted windows next to us flashed.

"I feel like I'm dating Bruce Wayne's hot daughter," I mused, stepping out of the truck and helping her transfer the groceries. She gave her truck an affectionate pat after locking it, then stepped around to the car. We slid in, and she quickly backed out before driving out of the garage. There was a blue Toyota parked on the side of the road, the two men from the grocery store watching hopefully with a digital camera, but they didn't give us a second look.

"What's their problem?" I hissed, glaring through the tinted windows as we drove away.

"You smashed their phones, they probably think you have something to hide. Secrets are valuable," she said easily. I nodded, it made sense, but I was still pissed. "Why don't you own a car?" She asked curiously, pulling me out of my mind.

"Oh… I just don't like driving."

"Why don't you like driving?" I froze, the flashes of white and green rushing at me in my mind making me flinch. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that," she said quietly, and I looked over to see her giving me a worried expression.

"No, it's okay… I was in an accident when I was a kid. My grandma had gotten me a BMW for my sixteenth Birthday. First time I ever drove. We were coming back from the dealership, and the tires skidded on the ice before catching on the side of the road. My Grandma didn't make it, and I've never really felt the desire to drive again."

Bella reached over, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. I looked over at her.

"I'm really sorry that happened to you."

"It was a long time ago. I'm always going to feel bad about what happened to her, but it was an accident. There's nothing that can be done about it." She nodded, and didn't let go of my hand the entire drive. Her electric touch easily pushed the painful memories into the back of my mind once more, and I felt myself relax quickly.

We pulled up into her building, and I carried the beast while she grabbed the other bags.

We walked inside her apartment, and I spun around when I heard her bags clatter on the floor. I dropped the turkey when her hands grabbed onto my face, pulling me down to kiss me. Adrenaline shot through my body from the contact with her soft lips, and my hand slid into her hair while my other arm wound tightly around her waist. Her lips were fierce, urgent against mine, and the passion that flowed through her kiss blurred out everything else in the world. I lifted her up with my grip around her waist, and her breath came out halfway between a huff and a soft moan as I pushed her up against the door a little roughly. Her fingers slid into my hair, gripping tightly, and I let out something close to a growl from the arousing sensation.

The _very_ arousing sensation.

I had to pull away, or I would have fucked her right there against the door. Lucky, I was holding her high enough that she couldn't feel just _how_ excited she had made me. I held her there, resting my forehead on her shoulder while we both stood there, shaking and gasping for breath.

Fuck, this woman was going to be the death of me.

She was combing her fingers through my hair slowly, and the sensation was incredibly soothing. I hummed against her neck, making her giggle.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, I just need a second to regroup," I laughed. She laughed too.

"I meant about what happened in the truck," she said gently. I leaned back to look at her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"I never would have pulled that stunt if I had known what you'd gone through Edward. I'm so sorry."

"Wha- oh," It took a second to figure out what she was talking about, and I smiled. "It really didn't bother me Bella. It's sad to think about what happened, but I really am okay. I moved on from that a long time ago, I don't have PTSD or anything like that. I'm not afraid of cars, I just really don't have any desire to own one." I trailed a finger down her temple softly. "It was kind of fun actually. I felt like I was on set," I teased. She smiled, and relaxed in my arms. I kissed the tip of her nose, and set her down on her feet gently.

We picked up the scattered items on the floor, putting everything in the kitchen. I stood in front of her fridge holding the turkey, pursing my lips.

"Where do you want this thing?" I asked, looking over at her.

"Oh, up on the roof."

"What?"

"My smoker is up on the roof. Let's go," she said.

"Where's Zeus?"

"Oh, he's with his uncle today. Emmett was going hiking with Garrett and they took him with them."

"Oh, I bet he's loving that," I said with a smile, following her up the stairs with the giant bird. She led me to the corner of the roof, where there was this giant metal container that reminded me of a space ship. We unwrapped the bird, and I helped her maneuver it into the device before she locked it. Before we went down, she pulled a bench over to one of the security cameras, and adjusted it so that it was facing the smoker before we went back down to her apartment. Bella ordered us a pizza and a big order of chicken wings, and we spent the evening cuddling and watching House of Cards.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Bella wants the gang over for dinner! Big step for her. How did you like Edward stepping up a bit? Reviews are better than Fajitas. And I really, really love Fajitas. **

**Do you like turkey? If so, how do you like yours cooked?**

**-Kitty**


	12. Chapter 12

**Today's song – Damini by USS**

**Shoot, who owns the Twilight universe again? I can't remember her name. **_**Not.**_** Thank you Miss Meyer for creating such fun characters for me to play with!**

. . . . . . . . . .

As soon as I woke up I jumped into the shower and threw on a pair of nice jeans, a white dress shirt and an orange tie with a turkey on it.

Tanya fucking hated this tie, had actually tried to throw it out, but I loved it. It was a gift from my mom.

I grabbed the case of bottles of wine I had picked up, threw on my coat, and was stepping into the town car Riley had sent for me within an hour.

Bella said I could come over as early as I wanted. She didn't seem surprised in the slightest to see me knocking on her door at nine in the morning.

I knew she'd already be up.

"Hey beautiful," I purred, stepping inside and wrapping my arms around her. She smiled, resting her hands on my chest as I leaned into kiss her.

"Hmm, good morning," she said happily, smiling back at me brightly.

"I hope I didn't come too early?"

"No, I was debating driving over and waking you up so I could see you sooner." She thumbed my tie, grinning as she inspected it. "Cute."

I chuckled, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. Something beeped, and her mood shifted like a switch had been hit as she pushed me away and dashed to her kitchen. I slid off my shoes, and followed after her to see her taking a small tray of tea biscuits out of her oven. I groaned as I finally took a moment to take in her outfit.

"What's wrong?"

"What are you wearing?"

She smiled. "I thought you said you liked this look?" she teased, doing a little pirouette to show off her outfit. She was wearing a tight black skirt that had a very long slit up the side, and was wearing a thin white blouse with a red silk camisole underneath. The top few buttons were undone, giving me a peek of the red lace and a hint of her cleavage.

And she was wearing her hair down, it was perfectly straight and smooth like water.

"I knew it. You _are_ trying to kill me." She rolled her eyes, turning back to the counter to set down her tray.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Erm, no," I said, grinning sheepishly. The thought hadn't even occurred to me.

"Well, I got fresh biscuits and fruit salad," she said setting the basket down, and setting some dishes knowingly in front of me as I took a seat. She set down a big bowl of cut up fruits, along with butter and jams, and told me to dig in.

God, I loved this woman. Thinking those words a few months ago would have had me running for the hills, but now it was the only word that could come close to describing my feelings, and it was everything that meant anything in my life now. I knew that it was probably a little unhealthy how attached I had gotten to her, but I really didn't fucking care.

"Mimosa?" she asked, taking a bottle of champagne and some orange juice out of her fridge.

"Isn't it a little early?" I teased.

"Mmm, it's a holiday, and a few drinks makes playing in the kitchen even more fun." I dropped my fork when she pulled a black apron with frilly white lace out of a drawer. She slid the pearl neck strap over her head, pulled through her long hair, and tied the wide white ribbon around her waist in a lazy bow before twisting her hair up in a large clip.

Fuck.

"Yeah, a drink sounds good," I said in a bit of a choked voice. She smiled, and I shut my eyes tightly as she reached up to grab two glasses, her skirt sliding up her smooth, pale legs a couple inches.

Today was going to be a long fucking day.

Zeus came trotting into the room lazily, stretching out on the floor before dropping down and rolling onto his back by Bella's feet. She grinned, kneeling down and rubbing his belly. "Hey sleepy boy! You excited for some turkey tonight?" His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he looked up at her. She opened up her cupboard, and he sprang to his feet when she took out a bag of treats. She tossed one across the room, smiling as he barreled after it, then went and hid underneath the coffee table while he started gnawing on it. She washed her hands, then came and sat on the stool next to mine, splitting one of the biscuits and spreading some butter and raspberry jam on it. She caught me watching her, and smiled.

"Are you sure you're not going to get bored, stuck here with me all day?"

"Completely sure, I've been looking forward to it," I said in a low voice, tucking a lose strand of her silky hair behind her ear so I could see her face better. "What's your schedule like for the day?"

She took a sip of her drink. "First the pies, then potatoes, beans, carrots, deviled eggs, salad, I need to bring the turkey down at six so it can be carved then reheated, gravy, then heating everything…" Her mind was completely elsewhere, a smile on her lips as she got lost in the idea of her plans.

"What can I do to help?"

She grinned. "How good are you with a peeler?"

I spent two hours peeling apples, carrots and potatoes for her while she fluttered around her kitchen, washing and cutting vegetables, making pies, and I helped her set up a large round table she had stashed away in her giant closet for tonight in the middle of the open room. She reminded me a lot of Alice that morning, a little hurricane of energy and excited movement. She had all of her prep done before noon, her kitchen sparkling clean and everything sitting out just waiting to be turned on. She stood in the center of her kitchen, her hands on her hips, looking very proud and a little drunk.

"Thanks, that took like no time at all," she said happily.

"So you're done?"

"Yup, nothing has to be turned on until five, and- _hey!_" She shouted as I scooped her up into my arms, carrying her over to the couch and dropping down into the seat with her on my lap while she tried to wriggle out of my grasp. I worried for a second that I had actually scared her, her fists had tightened on my shirt and her breathing seemed a little panicked, but I held onto her more tightly as I sat down, and she stopped wiggling when I kissed her. She seemed to almost melt in my arms, her arms wrapping gently around my neck as she leaned into me. I felt her smile against my lips as I leaned her back, lying her down on the couch as I hovered over her. Combing my fingers through her long hair, and sliding my hand down her ribs, her waist, her hip, and down her thigh until I felt the smooth skin of her leg. I removed my hand quickly when I felt her tense, bringing it back up to her face and stroking her jaw.

_Baby steps_.

She relaxed again quickly as my kisses became more gentle, moving along her jaw and into her hair before I shifted her over, curling up behind her on the couch and wrapping her in my arms. I trailed the tip of my nose along her neck, making her giggle.

"You smell like an apple pie," I whispered, kissing her neck and holding her a little more tightly. She let out a soft, pleased-sounding sigh, leaning back into my chest. I reached over, grabbing the remote for the TV and flicking it on to the parade. "Can we just stay here like this? Just for a while?"

"I don't ever want to move," she whispered back, her arms wrapping around my own. I smiled, burying my face in her hair, and just savouring the peacefulness of the proximity to her.

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that before her hands slid off of my arms. I leaned back to look at her, and smiled when I took in her relaxed face and slightly parted lips.

She fell asleep.

It was just too adorable, seeing her like this. Very carefully, I pulled the throw off the back of the couch behind me, and draped it over us. When I looked up at the TV, I saw that we still had a couple hours before the others would come over. I wanted to let her sleep, it was such a rare sight. The only time, actually, that I've seen her just sleep normally; not being influenced into it because of pain. I was tempted to let myself fall asleep with her, but I knew if her brother showed up before we woke up she would be mortified.

I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be to not only fall asleep with her in my arms, but what it would be like to wake up and have her _right there_ next to me. I sighed into her hair, and she snuggled in closer to me in her sleep.

She shuffled a little while later, trying to escape the blanket with an adorable pout on her face. I flipped the blanket off of her arm, kissing the back of her neck and trailing my fingers up and down her arm before resting my hand on her hip.

"Hmmm."

I leaned over to look at her face again, and chuckled when I saw the pleased smile on her sleeping face. I rubbed my hand on her hip, and her smile got bigger before she rolled onto her back. I propped my head up on one bent arm, draping my other one over her stomach while I went back to watching the TV.

"No," she whispered a little while later, so quietly that I first thought that I had imagined it. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she said it again though. "Wake up."

Fuck, was she having a nightmare? She flinched violently in my arms, whimpering.

"_Wake up_."

"Shhh," I cooed, brushing her hair out of her face and gently kissing her cheek. "You're safe Bella. I'm right here," I whispered. I smiled when she slowly relaxed again. She rolled over, resting her hands and face against my chest.

"Edward," she breathed, the sound making my heart fly.

"I'm right here," I whispered again.

"Thank you."

I smiled, closing my eyes and tightening my hold on her as I lay back down.

I guess I did start to drift off a bit, my eyes shooting open when I felt Bella's fingers trailing along the collar of my shirt, making me shiver.

"Hey," she whispered, smiling up at me. My face quickly mirrored hers.

"Hey, how was your nap?"

A flash of unease passed through her eyes, but it barely lasted half a second before being replaced by happiness once again. "Best nap I've ever had," she said with a grin. I smiled back at her, trailing my fingers down her face.

Zeus walked over, sitting down behind her and resting his head on her shoulder and letting out his breath in a deep _"boof."_ His tail was thudding loudly on the floor behind us. She twisted her head to smile at him.

"You wanna go out baby boy?" He barked, and I laughed. "Okay okay, I'm getting up," she said, leaning back in and giving me a quick kiss before rolling off of the couch. She straightened up her clothes, stretched, then walked over to the door after him. "I'll be right back," she said with a wave, leaving me alone in her apartment.

I stretched before getting up, folding our blanket and putting it back over the back of the couch, and went to use the washroom. When I was walking back, one of Bella's computers made a beeping sound when I passed by it.

I didn't look at the screen that had the constant feed of news articles popping up on it, it was her security monitor for the roof that caught my attention. Bella was sitting on a bench on the roof, barely in the corner of the screen, her arms wrapped tightly around Zeus whose head was resting on her shoulder.

They were just sitting there, hugging, not moving. Well, I guess not moving wasn't a very good description. It looked like Bella was shaking.

I felt like I was watching something very private, but I couldn't look away. She was obviously very upset about something, and I almost ran to the roof to comfort her, but something stopped me. I got the feeling I would do more harm than good going up there. Bella detested anything that could be considered an act of weakness, if she knew that I was seeing her like this… Yes, she wouldn't like that. So I sat, and waited, until five minutes later when she stood up, kissed Zeus' snout, ruffled his fur, and walked back into the building.

I ran and dropped back onto the couch.

She was all smiles again when they came back in and locked the door, no trace of strain or sadness in her face, but even Zeus knew better. He was glued to her side, even lying down against the bathroom door when she went inside, and whining softly.

I loved this dog, but then again he was an easy dog to love. I found it really comforting to know that he was always here for her, on watch and protecting her, and I loved the calming effect that he seemed to have on her when they were close to each other.

I was going to buy him the biggest bone I could find for Christmas this year.

Fuck, Christmas. It's really not far off now. I wonder if Bella would come to my parent's place for dinner? Uncle Hale and Aunt Carmen would be there, so Rose and Emmett will be invited too… Was it too soon to ask her?

Bella walked over with a tray of fruit, nuts, cheeses, veggies and crackers that she sat on the coffee table, along with a bunch of small square napkins with bright leaf patterns on them. Zeus was watching her with wide eyes, his tail thumping loud and fast against the floor.

That dog was nuts about cheese.

"Go long Zeus!" He jumped to his feet, running towards the middle of the room before spinning around, and jumped into the air when she tossed a small cube of orange cheese. He caught it expertly, then sat up on his hind legs, his giant paws almost digging through the air. She laughed, picked up a carrot stick that looked very similar to the cheese, and tossed it over.

He caught it, but spat it out really quickly and growled at it, making both of us laugh. The door was knocked, and we both glanced over at the monitor to see our four friends waiting in the hall. She dashed over and started undoing her locks. I forced myself not to sigh while realizing that my time alone with her was up.

We all sat together on her giant couch, having a couple glasses of wine while we talked and watched more of the parade, Alice trying to come to terms with the fact that Bella didn't have a closet, before Emmett went up to grab the bird from the roof and carve it while Bella started running around her kitchen, turning everything on.

She wasn't joking when she said she made enough to feed an army, but then again she did have Emmett as a brother so I saw where the habit stemmed from. I also saw what Jasper meant about her mashed potatoes. They were unlike anything I'd ever had before, she made them with a spiced cream cheese she had made herself, and had a texture more like whipped cream than heavy potatoes. There were no words to describe that turkey.

It was the best Thanksgiving dinner I had ever had, not that I'd ever say that to my mother, and I was looking forward to a lifetime of them. The thought made me smile as Bella brought over the pies, and set down party-crackers on everyone's plate.

"Aren't party crackers more of a Christmas thing?" Alice mused.

"Not in this family," Bella said quickly. We counted, and everyone opened theirs except for Jasper. Alice put on her pink paper crown with a grin, and looked over at him curiously.

"I always break mine wrong, open it for me?" He said, handing over the cracker to her with a slight shake in his hand.

Oh fuck.

"Sure!" She took the cracker, twisting it open with a large crack, and the little white ring box fell into her lap. She laughed, handing it over to him without a clue. "You got a big one," she said, and started unfolding his crown to put onto his head. She seemed to notice his odd mood then, and her hands clapped over to her mouth when he opened the box to her, then dropped down on one knee.

Bella was recording the entire thing on her phone with a shit-eating grin on her face.

I wonder what her opinion on marriage was?

"Alice Mary-Anne Cullen, from the first moment I met you I knew you were the one. Since that moment, not a single thought has gone through my mind that didn't include you. You're everything I've ever wanted or will ever need. I love you more than anything in the world. Would you please do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes!" She shouted immediately, tackling him with a kiss that made me have to look away. It was my baby sister for fuck sakes. Alice was crying when he pulled away to slide the ring on her finger, then pulled her into his lap so he could keep his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"To Alice and Jasper!" Bella sang, raising her wine glass with a blinding smile. We all followed quickly, clinking our glasses together and laughing.

"To Bella," Jasper said after we all took a sip, and she gave him a confused look.

"I'll second that," Emmett said with a laugh. "To the best fucking matchmaker I've ever met!"

"If it wasn't for you, neither of us would have met the women of our dreams," Jasper finished, raising his glass. The rest of the table followed, and Bella's face turned bright red, making Emmett laugh loudly.

"Are you fucking blushing? I don't think I've seen you blush since you were like five years old!" Emmett choked, making Bella jump to her feet and punch him in the arm with a scowl.

I smiled. I made her blush quite frequently.

But that Bella was mine, and only mine. No one else knew her, and I didn't want to share.

Jasper, Emmett and I set to the long task of cleaning the dishes while we shooed the women away easily with another bottle of wine. Emmett had like four plates at dinner, so I don't know how he was still eating, but he was. He had to taste everything before he put it into a container. Once we were all finished, we sat around the table, getting thoroughly shitfaced as we played this "Apples to Apples" game that Jasper had brought along. Apparently, it was another tradition of theirs.

"How did you meet Jasper?" I asked curiously, seeming to surprise the two of them.

"We started working at the Historical Society on the same day," she said with a grin, which he mirrored.

"Yeah, she could have fooled me. I got lost, ended up in her wing, and she showed me around the place like she'd lived there for years."

"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't take the time to do a recce before you started. Amateur."

"Hey, my right hook wasn't amateur, you have to admit, I did you proud that day." She rolled her eyes but was grinning.

"I don't think I follow," Alice said, and Jasper looked slightly aggravated before Bella finished for him.

"A few of the workers thought it would be funny to try to corner the new girl and intimidate her. Unfortunately, they did it right in front of Jasper's office. They never even saw him coming before he broke the first guy's nose."

"You let someone punch someone in the face for you? I thought that was one of your like, favourite things in the world?" I teased.

"Well, we kind of punched him at the same time," she laughed, grinning at Jasper. That was my girl. "He was new in the area, so I introduced him to Emmett. We've all been friends ever since."

"How did you meet Rose?" Alice asked curiously, just as caught up in their stories as I was getting. I saw Rose blanch, and Emmett wrapped his arm around her protectively.

"In one of my self-defence classes," Bella said easily. It wasn't her that gave away the lie, it was Rose. We both saw it, but decided it was best not to push. We started another game, the conversation moving quickly behind us as the night got later.

Our loud laughter was interrupted by a beeping sound like I had heard earlier from Bella's computer, and she swerved her head to look over my shoulder at her desk, squinting at the large screen.

Then it beeped again. And again. And red screens started popping up that I couldn't read.

Then two different cell phones on the desk started lighting up.

She shot to her feet, stumbling over to the desk, and started typing away frantically, fumbling with her different phones with trembling hands.

"No, it's too soon, no no no…" she started mumbling.

"Bells? What's going on? What-"

She bolted out of the room into the bathroom, where we all heard her become violently sick. Rose was running to her side in a second, while Emmett and I ran over to the computer.

I was almost sick too when I saw the picture on the screen. It was a small woman with shoulder-length brown hair, sitting broken in a pool of her own blood in nothing but a torn, bloodied blouse. Her eyes stared vacantly into nothing from the gravel on the side of the road.

There was writing on her arm in black marker.

_I miss you baby. They don't feel like you. Soon._

There were all sorts of articles popping up to cover the picture, all with similar headlines. _The Highway Killer Strikes Again. Victor Hunter Still at Large…_

"What's going on?" Alice whispered quietly, looking around at us worriedly. She hadn't seen the picture, thank god.

"It's the man who's after my sister. He hurt someone again."

"Hurt her?"

"He killed her." Alice gasped, looking around, and went to run after Rose and Bella. Emmett caught her. "Just give them some time. Rose knows what she's doing. Bella will freak out if she gets swarmed right now." My sister nodded, then wrapped her arms around Jasper with tears in her eyes. We all turned when we heard a string of loud cracking noises, and Emmett sighed.

"Shouldn't you like… restrain her or something?" I could only assume what the noise was, and picturing her hands made me cringe.

"No, it'll just make it worse. Best thing is to just let her get it out," he said sadly.

"What's his name?" Alice asked.

"Victor."

"Victor _Hunter_?" She hissed. Emmett frowned as he looked at her. "But isn't he the one who… With the women and the moving cars?" We didn't say anything. Alice knew this of course, she had taken an interest in the case after finding out it was what my first major film had been based off of. I thought she knew all of this already, hadn't Bella told her? "But why would he be after B?" Her eyes went wide as she continued to think out loud, tears starting to stream out of her eyes. "Did he… He didn't-"

"He did," Emmett said shortly. Alice started sobbing as he walked over to Bella's bar and poured himself a stiff drink. I couldn't take my eyes off of the bathroom door. Rose came out once for a minute, grabbing some things out of Bella's dresser without looking at any of us. They were in there for two hours, Rose, Bella and Zeus, the shower going for a while, while we all sat in silence around the couch.

Except for Emmett, who was sitting at her desk drinking straight out of a bottle of scotch, going through the different articles that kept coming up. Apparently the woman was found just outside of LA. He only answered one call, from some man named Alec. His name was the only thing I got before Emmett went out into the hallway.

I couldn't bring Bella to LA again. The only aspect of this situation that was anything close to positive was the fact that he was so far away from here right now. Emmett had convinced Alice and Jasper that it would be better for her if they headed home, but he couldn't make me leave. No fucking way in hell was I going to leave her like this.

When they did come out, Bella's face was pale, her expression empty. It was scarier than the puffy red eyes I was expecting, but it didn't look like she had even cried. She was wearing a pair of bright purple, baggy pyjama pants, and a long-sleeved white cotton shirt. Her hair was loose and wet, hanging over her shoulders and down her back, soaking her shirt.

Her hands were wrapped in bandages.

They both came and sat down on the couch quietly, Zeus practically leaning against her while she walked over. He jumped up onto the couch, lying down across her lap, and she didn't say anything to him. I was very much aware that Zeus was not permitted on the furniture. Today was obviously an exception, it didn't look like she was physically capable of removing her hand from his thick fur. I went to speak, but Rose cut me off.

"Bella's already talked about it, and she doesn't want to talk about it anymore," she said protectively. We were all silent.

I got up, poured a large glass of water with some ice, and set it down on the table in front of her without a word before sitting down next to her. I didn't touch her, just sat close. I wasn't sure she would appreciate being touched right now.

We sat in silence, watching a re-run of the football game we had watched earlier. Rose tried to cover a yawn at around midnight.

"You guys can head home," Bella said easily, her voice completely normal. "I'm fine, you don't need to babysit me."

"Bella, we don't-"

"Rose, I love you, but I can't sit here with you guys giving me sympathetic looks all night. It's driving me crazy."

"I'm not leaving," I said seriously.

"You're not fucking staying _here_," Emmett growled, glaring at me with his slightly glazed eyes.

"God damn it Emmett! I'm not fucking your sister!" His eyes went wide, his mouth popping open at my angry outburst. "Of course I'm not you asshole, how much of a prick do you think I am?" I looked over at Bella to make sure I hadn't upset her… and she had a bit of a smirk on her face. I let out a sigh, relaxing slightly. "I know about her past, give me some fucking credit man." I dropped back down on the couch, crossing my arms.

Zeus leaned up and licked my face, and I patted him on the head with a bit of a smile before he lay back down across his mommy's lap.

"Sorry Edward, I…"

"I know Emmett, I get it. Forget about it."

Bella didn't say a word. She wasn't sending me home.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, he walked over and gave Bella a hug, kissing the top of her head. Rose did the same.

"I already talked to Alec, so don't worry about it. I'll be over tomorrow to check on you," he told her.

"Okay. Take some food home with you, my fridge is going to break through the floor."

He chuckled, and gave me a nod to follow him as he walked over to the kitchen.

"Emmett-"

"Just call me if anything else happens, okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course." He gave me one nod, and threw a bunch of Tupperware containers into a fabric grocery bag before he and Rose left. Reluctantly.

I watched as Bella walked over to the rack of clothes between her window and bed, and took out a big grey hoodie that looked like it was sized for Emmett, not her. She shuffled around in her nightstand before walking over to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water.

"I'm going up to the roof for a bit… you can come if you want," she offered.

"Sure." I walked over to the door with her, grabbing my coat, and we slowly walked up the stairwell, Zeus in between us. I sat next to her on the small couch that was there, and looked up at the dark sky.

It always made me sad that I couldn't see the stars here. Fucking city light pollution.

I looked over quickly when I heard her flick a lighter, my eyes going wide when I saw that she was lighting a joint.

"You smoke pot?"

She glanced over at me and frowned. "Sorry, I can put it out if it bothers you."

"No, I don't care," I told her honestly. I'd done much worse, I _had _lived in LA for five years. "I was just surprised."

She smiled, taking another long puff. "I have a medical permit for it," she said, slightly defensively.

"Really? Why?"

She laughed. "My last doctor said it would help with my 'anger management issues,'" she said sarcastically, making air quotes with her fingers. "It calms me down, helps me sleep sometimes. When they said I could legally smoke pot, I didn't bother to argue. You never know when that will come in handy," she said with a grin, and offered me the joint. I smiled, and took it.

"Thanks."

"Its strong stuff," she warned with an amused grin. I coughed loudly, and she patted me on the back with a chuckle. I hadn't smoked since before I moved back here.

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting on her couch, laughing our asses off and eating ice cream while watching Drunk History on MTV on Demand. Bella eventually fell asleep leaning against my arm, and when she seemed like she was completely out, I lifted her up carefully and carried her over to her bed, tucking her under her fluffy duvet. I went to walk back over to the couch, but stopped when she lightly grabbed onto the hem of my shirt.

"Where are you going?" She mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"The couch?"

She smiled at me, and slid further across the bed, making room for me. My pulse was thudding in my ears.

"Are you sure?"

"I trust you," she said quietly, making my heart stutter. I watched her for a long minute before pulling off my uncomfortable shirt, and sliding in next to her. I kept my jeans on. We watched each other quietly for a couple minutes before I worked up the courage to lift my arm. She took the invitation, curling up against my side, and both of our bodies seemed to relax from the contact.

"Good night Bella."

"Good night."

. . . . . . . . . .

**So, a lot to happen in one day. Are you happy for Alice and Jasper? It's a little fast, they've only been dating for about four months now, but they each knew from the first night they met each other. How do you think today's events are going to affect Bella and Edward's relationship? Victor has never killed two people in such a short time frame before.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Un chanson pour vous! Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. I really recommend looking for a cover version by Apocalyptica. **

**Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight! But what I do with her characters are ****_mine_****. They're just not the same anymore.**

. . . . . . . . . .

It was not a peaceful sleep in the slightest. I woke up about every twenty minutes, the images of that broken, bloodied woman forcing itself into my mind every time I drifted off. It was different though, not the same woman, but a young girl with Bella's face, bleeding out on the gravel with broken wings protruding from her shoulder blades. Her chocolate-brown eyes staring lifelessly into nothing.

But every time I woke up, Bella was right there, her arm draped across my stomach with her head resting on my chest. I know she didn't sleep much either, every time I woke up it seemed her eyes were open, staring out the window.

Neither of us said anything though. We were both comfortable in the silence.

When I woke up for the last time, around six in the morning, it was to the smell of bacon. I stretched before swinging my feet out of her amazingly comfortable bed, and trotted over to her bathroom before she could notice my morning excitement.

I was relieved when I wrapped my arms around her waist, and she didn't stiffen. She smiled up at me, and I leaned down to give her a gentle kiss before resting my chin on her shoulder. When I remembered the bandages on her hands I tried to take over for her, but she quickly told me to fuck off.

She let me use her shower, which is when I noticed the cracked wall in her bathroom for the first time, confirming my unspoken assumption about what had happened to her knuckles. When I opened the shower door though, I spent a good five minutes just staring at the fucking sex-bar on her wall. I knew that was obviously not what the bar anchored into the shower wall was for, but it was all I could think about. I curiously tested my weight on it, and it didn't budge in the slightest as I did a few pull-ups off of it.

Fuck.

I was tempted to say something to her about it, I had about a hundred witty, and _very_ dirty things to say about it, but I held my tongue.

I laughed when she lent me a shirt, surprised that she had something that fit me, but apparently she had a very large collection of overly-large band tees. Just like me. She also told me she was used to Emmett passing out on her couch. We spent about two hours going through her collection of shirts and the stories behind them, both of us pretty stunned by the amount of matching ones we had, and the amount of concerts we had apparently attended at the same time, both completely unaware of the other. I smiled at the SOAD one she lent me.

"You remember that first time we saw each other at the gym?"

"That was the first time you saw _me_ at the gym," she corrected.

"What do you mean?"

"I had seen you there a couple times, you just didn't see me," she said with a smile. "But yeah, I remember. Why?"

"You were listening to Chop Suey when I walked over. I thought it was cool, because I had been listening to the same album while I had been running."

She laughed, and smiled at me.

"How are your hands?" I asked curiously.

"They're fine, just annoying the hell out of me," she said with a sigh. "You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now. Guess not."

"I punched your punching bag that day when you walked away. Just once. I thought I broke my fucking hand, and then I thought you were some sort of cyborg because you had been doing it for almost twenty minutes."

She fucking _giggled,_ shaking her head at me.

"What would you like to do today? You're not going into work tonight, are you?"

"No, even if I could punch someone today I doubt Rose would let me in the building. I'm probably just going to hang out here. What about you?"

"Well, I was hoping to just stay with you. I don't really care what we do."

She rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. "You can stay here for as long as you want."

"You shouldn't say that," I teased, and she turned to face me, raising and eyebrow. My hands slid down to her hips, pulling her against me. "If you let me decide, then I'll never leave."

"Maybe I don't want you to leave," she whispered, her hands sliding up my chest.

"Then I won't," I told her easily, leaning down and pressing my lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders as she stretched up on her toes, and I easily lifted her up, holding her tightly while I kissed her.

. . .

It was a pretty peaceful day. Quiet. If I thought I'd slept badly, Bella had probably had half of that. I was curious, really, because I'd always had my thoughts about how she slept. Even when she had come to LA with me, and we were sharing the suite, it always seemed she was up later than I was, and she was always up before me as well. I couldn't decide on whether or not she was a morning person or a night owl, and she rarely showed any signs of exhaustion.

Today, she looked tired though. I was watching her closer than usual of course, after last night. But she just seemed… tired.

The only time she spoke of what happened was after she'd been on her laptop for an hour. She got up from the couch, placing the open laptop on her desk, and hooked it up to her printer before printing off a few pages. Some she folded and put into an envelope, before she shut it and walked over to the television.

She started fiddling with something on the side of it, and my mouth may have popped open a bit when the panel of wood the TV was mounted onto swung open, revealing a hidden safe.

"That's kind of fucking awesome," I blurted out unintentionally. She looked at me in surprise, like she'd snapped out of a haze, before she smiled at me.

"If you think that's neat, I can show you something even cooler," she mused, and I grinned before nodding back to her.

"What do you need a safe for?" I really wanted to take a peak, my curiosity was killing me, but I didn't want to pry either. I got up pretty quickly when she nodded me over. "Shit."

Pretty sure I was dating James Bond's daughter.

"Old identifications and passports," she said, pointing to a small stack next to a very large stack of cash. "Disposable phones, prepaid credit cards, important documents…" She shifted some thing over, pulling out a small, clear-plastic case with thumb drives in it. "I keep all of my important documents in this thing. One is medical records, because I've had so many different names and lived in different places, everything that I've ever been to the hospital for I made electronic copies of to keep in one place, in case something ever happens. Then one is for all of my different bank accounts and finances, one where I keep a record of descriptions of all of my contacts, different e-mail accounts and passwords, people who need to be contacted for whatever if something happens to me, etcetera…" She gave me a small smile and counted out four stacks of cash before closing and locking the door again.

"What're you doing?"

She worried her bottom lip for a moment before looking at me timidly. Her voice was very soft as she spoke. "Her name was Charlotte, and she was twenty-three. She lived with her mother and two younger sisters in LA, and worked two jobs to help her mother take care of her sisters while she took online courses. She didn't have life insurance. The funeral expenses alone would probably bankrupt her mother, and those two little girls… I know the money will do nothing to help ease their loss, and I can't contact them personally because communication is most likely being watched, but this will make sure that they're comfortable, and that what he did won't damage their family any more than he already has."

I watched, stunned, and she became quiet once more, slipped the cash and a letter inside of a bubble-lined manila envelope, and peeled a printed sticker off of a sheet on her desk before sealing the envelope with tape. She stared at it on her desk for a long moment before letting out a soft sigh, and turned to face me again. The smile on her face was obviously forced, but I said nothing of it.

"So, want to see something cool?"

And I did, if only because I could see in her eyes that she was in much more pain than she was willing to deal with and that she needed a distraction. She proceeded to show me the hidden door in the wood paneling of the wall next to her bed. Her apartment was connected to the one next door that had a small kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. One of which she used as a laundry room and extra storage. She told me that Emmet and Rose stayed in the other bedroom when they babysat Zeus for her.

It was pretty cool, but I was distracted by the pain in my chest as I watched her. She was good at hiding it, but I was better at reading her.

I was kind of waiting for her to snap, or breakdown, or something, but… she didn't.

We sat back down on her couch, and I felt like neither of us paid the slightest bit of attention to the TV. I kept watching her from the corner of my eye as she kept moving closer to me, inch by inch on the couch, but she seemed hesitant for some reason. I really couldn't see why, and after a couple minutes I just closed the distance, pulling her into my lap and wrapping my arms around her. I felt my body slowly start to relax as hers did.

Fuck. She just fit so perfectly in my arms like this, like she was _made_ to fit right there. Her weight felt so comfortable on me, though she was fairly toned she was still tiny and didn't seem to weigh much. It was just comfortable feeling her there, in my arms.

With my chin resting on her shoulder, my mind in a million different places as I ignored the TV, it was obvious as I watched her from the corner of my eye. She looked like she wanted to say something, but seemed to be holding her words back by chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

"What's up?" I asked quietly, grinning when she shivered as my breath tickled her ear. My smile just got bigger as her face turned beet red.

Fucking beautiful.

"Um, I was wondering if… you wanted to stay again. Tonight."

"Sure," I said easily, surprising myself with how fucking calm my voice sounded. I knew she meant just like last night, I was just happy for the opportunity to be close to her. I let out a breath, knowing her brother would still probably be irked by my stay. I definitely didn't want to sleep in these jeans again either. "I'm just going to run home and grab some clean clothes."

"Okay," she said with her dazzling smile. A real one, not a forced one. It once again froze me for a moment with its beauty, and I just watched her before I couldn't resist the pull anymore, and leaned in to kiss her.

I grabbed a cab a half a block away from her apartment, not wanting to really bother Riley during the holiday. I had no idea what his plans were, and felt a bit bad for not having asked. Oddly, I didn't feel that same guilt over not asking Tyler. I was still stunned by the knowledge of his unfaithfulness to his wife, so to try and deal with the fact that I was stuck with him until the end of the year, I thought it was in the best interest of our professional relationship just to not talk to him if it could be avoided. I didn't really know his wife, I think she had hit on me a couple times herself at a few parties she had attended with him, but I still felt bad. I wondered if she knew.

I was relieved that Bella didn't come with me when I arrived at my apartment. There was a horde of reporters by the main entrance, and I had my driver go in through the parking garage. Which was also swarmed. These reporters were closer though as we moved into the building, so I heard them shouting something about a "Brunette Mystery-Girl."

Shit.

I packed some things after calling Riley after all. He was very professional, and just had this vibe that I trusted, so when I told him my worries about leaving my building and not being followed, he ended up picking me up himself in his black Charger with its tinted windows.

He didn't ask any questions, and after asking him what his plans for the holidays were, he answered politely in as few syllables as possible before letting me know to contact him if I needed anything. As usual.

I kind of liked his gruff attitude. It didn't bother me. He just reminded me of Rose as she was a few years ago. She was a lot more easy-going now than she had been before. I had no doubt that that was the result of her relationship with Emmett. He was good for her.

I told Bella about what had happened when I got back a few hours later. It took a little while, because I was distracted by the pale pallor of her face when I got in. She said it was nothing, and didn't make as big a deal about the reporters as I'd expected. We were just going to have to be a bit more careful, and decided it wouldn't be wise for her to come back to my apartment any time soon, and that it wouldn't be safe for me to visit her at the library anymore either. She didn't hang around us at the club for more than a minute at a time really, so we saw no reason for me to start avoiding it.

She suggested maybe getting some additional security for inside of my building though, and when I told her that it really wasn't worth the effort of dealing with my manager, she told me she'd take care of it herself with a tone I didn't want to argue with.

Emmett and Rose came over with pizzas and salad for dinner, and even with their worried glances it was still a relaxed evening.

We watched one of her and Emmett's favourite movies, The Boondock Saints, which resulted in me being only slightly jealous of Norman Reedus, and my girlfriend's obvious infatuation with him. It wasn't too bad though, I knew I was hotter than he was, and a lot fucking bigger, and when I repeated a couple of his lines in my own Irish accent, quietly into her ear, she didn't seem to have much interest in the movie anymore.

Fuck, I missed the feeling of her hands on my skin, curled up next to me. I was fucking exhausted too, even after a day of nothing, so after it got dark and the two of them left, Emmett taking the large padded envelope to mail from out of town for Bella, I was more than ready to curl up with her in her giant bed again.

She didn't hesitate in curling into my side this time, making me smile. I was out as soon as I closed my eyes.

. . .

My bladder woke me up early in the morning, and my eyes were too blurry to read the red numbers on Bella's alarm clock. After even a short period of bare feet on the cold tiles of her bathroom, I was more awake as I carefully slid back into bed, being careful not to wake her.

Because she was actually asleep this time, and I smiled to myself, seeing her face look so relaxed. It was hard to look away actually. I moved closer to her, loving how she turned into me in her sleep, the smallest smile playing in the corners of her lips.

I brushed some of her hair carefully out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her skin felt so damn soft, and I could feel her pulse lightly against my fingertips as I traced them down her neck. I smiled to myself, resting the palm of my hand lightly against her throat, just enjoying the sensation of feeling her heartbeat.

I jerked my hand away quickly, though I wasn't exactly sure why at the moment. She hadn't flinched but something just felt… off.

It took me a few seconds to notice how still she was. Too still.

By the time I realized that she had stopped breathing, her body sort of twitched, before her face contorted in pain and her hands flew up to her throat.

"Bella?" I choked out, having no fucking clue what to do. My heart started hammering against my chest as she started thrashing around and clawing at her neck. "Bella!" I shouted, panicked, and started shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her up.

But I was knocked aside a second later by Zeus, who dove onto the bed and stood over her as he started barking loudly at her.

She gasped in a painful breath that quickly turned into a sob as she sat upright, and it sounded so painful as she seemed to be forcing herself to breathe again. I tentatively reached out for her, saying her name, but she flinched away from me so violently that she fell out of her bed.

My heart broke as she looked up at me with startled, terrified eyes before she pulled her knees up to her chest, hiding her face. Zeus was practically glued to her, trying to worm his way under her arm and lick her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm okay, I'm fine," she gasped out, and the way she clutched at her chest made it obvious she was in physical pain. I wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure me, or herself though.

And even though she flinched away from me, I couldn't sit there and do nothing. I slid down onto the floor after her, talking to her, telling her it was okay as I carefully pulled her into my arms. She only barely flinched, but after I touched her she let me pull her into my lap without a struggle.

And she cried. Every painful sob tore at my heart, but I just held her, telling her she was alright, and that I was here for her, and that I was sorry for scaring her. Zeus was leaning against us the entire time.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again, a while after her sniffles had faded away. I hadn't loosened my hold on her in the slightest. Holding her was the only thing holding me together.

"You have nothing to apologize for," I told her quietly, kissing her hair. "This was my fault, I'm so sorry for scaring you."

"What do you mean?" She asked, leaning back to look at me. I swiped away at a bit of the moisture on her cheeks.

I took a steadying breath. "I… you were sleeping, and I touched your neck," I started, looking at her curiously. Isn't that what had scared her? "And you stopped breathing. I tried to wake you up, but Zeus was louder."

She shook her head. "No, it wasn't your fault. It was just a dream I had," she said with a small smile. She trailed her index finger lightly between my eyebrows over the bridge of my nose. "I… it happens sometimes. I'm sorry if I scared you, I should have warned you."

I shook my head, and kissed her gently before holding her tightly again for a few minutes.

"What was your dream about?" I asked quietly. No matter what she said… she had stopped breathing the moment I'd rested my hand against her neck. I must have triggered something. She froze in my arms. "Bella?"

"I-" her voice came out as more of a squeak, before she cleared her throat. "It doesn't matter, it was nothing," she said quietly.

Like hell it was nothing. I chose a gentler approach then saying those words, though it wasn't without effort. "It was. Please, I just want to understand," I told her truthfully. Because really, seeing her like that had scared the shit out of me, and I didn't want to do it again. The other times I'd seen her seemingly have a nightmare, she started talking in her sleep, like she was trying to wake herself up, but nothing even close to this. "You said this has happened before?"

She was quiet for a long time, or at least it felt like a long time. I tried to give her the time she needed to organize her thoughts though, she was still shaking in my arms.

"It was a memory, not a dream," she said quietly.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice barely louder than a breath.

"You don't want to hear this Edward, it's really nothing, I just-"

"Bella," I said quietly, as her voice started to trail off. I tried to tell her in that one words that it was okay. I knew she was afraid of hurting me, but I needed her to be able to trust me to be able to handle it. I didn't want her to feel like she had to hide these things to protect me.

She seemed to lean more into my chest before she spoke, and I tightened my hold on her in response.

"That night, before he tried to knock me out… I was waiting for Emmett to get home, he was supposed to take me to a birthday party," she said in a quiet voice, sounding so much younger than she usually did. It was always easy to forget how young she really was, and I wondered for a moment if our age difference ever bothered her. I was only maybe six years older than her, well, closer to seven, but still.

"What happened?" I practically whispered.

"He just showed up. My dad was at work, so I was home alone. I told him to leave, that I would tell Emmett or my dad, but it was like he didn't even hear me. He was talking to me, but it was like I wasn't even there. I remember his eyes being almost completely black. I found out a few years later that it meant he was really high…" She let out a soft breath, and her words bled together a bit as she spoke quickly. "I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't, and when I told him Emmett would be home any minute, something just sort of snapped in him. He cornered me, and wrapped his hands around my throat as he pinned me to the wall. Then he started kissing me. I couldn't breathe, and I wasn't strong enough to push him away." She rubbed her hands over her throat. "Emmett calling the house and leaving a message made him drop me, but then he freaked out even more, and tried to knock me out before he took me."

God, no wonder she freaked out when I touched her neck. I felt sick, that someone could actually… do that to her. When she was a fucking _child_ no less. I didn't want to picture it, but I could, too easily. And it made my stomach roll in some sort of combination of nausea and rage.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered in her hair. "I won't-"

"No," she said, shaking her head before she turned in my arms. When she looked at me, I felt like her big brown eyes were looking right into my damn soul. "It's okay, really, I don't want you to… I didn't want to tell you, because I don't want you to be afraid of touching me." Her eyes were watering again as she watched me worriedly, and I watched nervously as she took my hand, and brought it back up to rest flat against her throat. She shivered slightly, but didn't break eye contact as she gave me a smile. "It's okay. I know you'd never… hurt me. I _know_ that. It was just a dream, and I forgot where I was for a moment. It wasn't you."

The fear in her voice is what convinced me. Not a fear of a memory, but a fear of _me_ being afraid.

I smiled at her gently, sliding my hand from her neck to cup her cheek, before I leaned in and kissed her softly. Her hands slid into my hair as I kissed her, but her lips broke away from mine as I stood up, still holding her. It wasn't completely easy getting off the floor without using my hands, but I did it, and slid back into the bed without giving up my hold on her.

I didn't know what else to say, asides from that I loved her, and I tried not to say that aloud because I didn't want to make her uneasy. I wasn't able to fall back asleep, but I was still at peace, just holding her so close to me.

I just hated that even having her so close, in my arms, I still wasn't able to protect her from him.

If I ever got close to him myself, I knew I'd kill him in an instant, with my bare hands if I needed to. I wanted him to feel the pain that she felt, because I could feel it too. He had tried to kill part of my own soul, and I wanted his life in return.

. . . . . . . . . .

It was a good weekend, all things considered. I spent the rest of it with her at her place, as she seemed completely serious when she told me I could stay as long as I wanted.

It made the choice easy, knowing she wanted me there just as much as I wanted to be there.

She was much better on Sunday, lighter even, and it was obvious that the few hours of sleep she had gotten, even with her intense fucking reaction to her nightmare, had made a world of a difference. We didn't talk about it again, and there was no mention of Victor or the events of Thanks-Giving.

I never got bored staying in her apartment though. Bella was incapable of staying still for very long. We played darts, board games, video games, none of which lasted long because of her bandaged hands. She didn't go to the gym, but let me join her when she did laps up and down the stairwell to burn off some of her extra energy with Zeus. It had started to snow, and the park was too crowded on the weekends, so we didn't go running. Emmett and Rose came over to visit for a little while every day.

It was pretty exhausting, her definition of relaxing. But I found that when I did get tired, if I wrapped her in my arms and held her tightly enough, she was able to relax and stay still for a while.

That one weekend seemed to change our relationship quickly, and a little intensely. I loved it. She was always next to me, touching me, smiling at me, kissing me. I could never take my hands off of her, though we dialed it down when Emmett was over. We didn't want to push him too hard, he seemed like he was finally starting to get comfortable with the idea that his little sister was in a relationship with someone. We didn't want to screw up the progress.

The whole experience made Monday close to unbearable, being away from her for an entire nine hours. But we had discussed it, and the only place where we both thought it safe to see each other anymore was at her apartment.

And whoever those two men from the grocery store were had done something. The reporters didn't die down quickly; there always seemed to be at least a dozen photographers outside of my building, not just the main entrance but the parking garage as well, snapping pictures of me and shouting for the name of my 'mystery woman.' Just sitting and waiting, hoping for a chance at a glimpse of _someone_ to make a story on.

And Victor was still looking for her. That was obvious to me from the messages he was leaving on his victims.

So, this is how our new routine started. Monday through Wednesday she worked at the Library, and I killed my time hanging out at my place, going to the gym, and going out for lunches with Alice, Emmett, Jasper or my parents. Thursdays were mine and Bella's after she taught her classes, though we got together with the entire gang at one of their places for dinner. We had tried to celebrate Alice and Jasper's engagement again, just a small dinner, and I told the others that my parents were planning on throwing her a large, official engagement party once they settled on a date too. I'd stop by the club on Fridays to hang out with the gang for a while, watching my ninja work her angry magic on the crowds on the nights she worked the floor. Saturdays I had dinner with my parents, and Sundays were my other Bella days.

No one ever came over on Sundays. They were all ours. No work, no classes, no drama, just us.

I found it very hard to spend any length of time in my own apartment now. It was too big, too empty, and didn't feel remotely like home. I couldn't sleep unless it was in Bella's bed.

But that is where I slept every night except for Fridays and Saturdays. She worked until four in the morning those nights, and we decided that we weren't going to take the risk of someone seeing her leave the club with me, or someone following me from the club to her building. But every other night, after getting dropped off by Riley in her parking garage and taking the service elevator up to her floor, I stayed at her place. I practically lived there now, and I loved it.

Being with Bella was as easy as breathing, and not being with her, I just couldn't seem to breathe comfortably.

. . . . . . . . . .

**_Wear a good suit tonight Hollywood, I'm picking you up at eight._**

I kept glancing at the text she had sent me this morning, smiling at it every time I read it. This was against our rules, but she was set as firmly as steel in her plans. Whatever they were. She told me she had something fun planned for my birthday, and as nervous as I was, I couldn't help being excited. She wouldn't give me any hint as to what we were doing except saying that we were "going out."

I followed her instructions, getting dressed in an ink-black suit, Alice's latest masterpiece, with a dark grey silk shirt and a deep green tie that was the exact color of my eyes. I combed my fingers through my messy hair, loving my new cut.

Of course Bella knew how to cut hair. I jumped in the chair as soon as she had finished with Emmett, and I knew I'd never go to a barber again.

I paced around in my empty apartment, nervous and excited, until eight rolled around and my phone vibrated again.

**_We're here. Come on down, Birthday boy._**

I chuckled, locking my door and nodding to the security guard by the elevator before I walked out. An extra precaution that not only Bella, but also Riley had encouraged me to accept. With the movie release in a month, and the hunt being on for the identity of my mystery brunette, the pap were starting to get really riled up. He made sure no unauthorized people came onto my floor, and there was a second one stationed in the lobby. When I came out of the elevator, he walked me outside, and stopped in front of a giant, hummer-styled limo. I tried not to squint from the flashes of light that threatened to blind me before I stepped in curiously, and he quickly shut the door behind me.

Emmett and Jasper were there, both wearing fancy suits, along with Rose and Alice who were dressed to the nines with their hair done up, Alice in a silver cocktail dress, and Rose in a shimmering red silk wrap dress. I barely saw them though.

Sitting in the spot farthest from the door was Bella. She was wearing a tight, blue-satin dress that tied around her neck, and dipped down to just below her breasts. That colour was fucking perfection on her, showing off her smooth, creamy skin, and she had her hair pinned up in an elegant up-do. I quickly made my way over to her across the giant limo, dropping down on the bench next to her. She tapped the glass when I sat down, and the car started moving.

"Fuck," I growled, looking over her slowly. She smirked.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said, running her fingers down my tie slowly. I shivered. Emmett cleared his throat, and I sighed before peeling my eyes off of his sister.

"Happy Birthday man," he said with an amused, yet slightly irritated smile, and was echoed by everyone else as they moved around to give me hugs.

"Thanks guys. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting… whatever this is. Is this safe?" I asked worriedly, looking back at Bella, and wrapping my arm around her. I was just calmer when I was touching her.

"Don't worry about me tonight, let's just enjoy this," she whispered into my ear, kissing my cheek.

"If there's a chance you're not safe tonight, I want to go back right now. You know I don't care about this sort of stuff," I told her seriously.

"It'll be fine Edward. I won't be in the public's eyes for more than a couple minutes, and I brought my sunglasses," she said with a smile. I relaxed.

"Where are we going?" I asked, getting excited again. I was out with my girl, who was dressed like a fucking super-model tonight, and all of my closest friends. Fuck, her chest looked amazing in this dress, I've never seen her wear something so low-cut before. It was hard not to stare, and she fucking knew it.

"It's a surprise," she teased, leaning in and resting her hand on my thigh. My grip on her tightened automatically, and her smile grew.

Yeah, she knew what that dress was doing to me. It was wrong for such a small woman to have so much goddamn power. Evil, sexy sorceress.

We drank champagne and snacked on fancy cheeses while laughing and talking as we drove to the mystery location, and when the limo pulled to a stop, Bella pulled out her pair of giant sunglasses, slipped on her jacket and scarf, and we filed out of the limo.

The camera flashes were blinding as I helped her step out of the limo last, and she didn't pull away from me as I wrapped my arm around her waist and we made our way into the large concert hall with the others. It was strange, but thrilling.

This woman was with _me_. They couldn't see her face, or know her name, but by this time tomorrow half of America was going to know that I had had this fucking drop-dead gorgeous woman on my arm on my birthday.

And as happy as that made me, it put a pit in my stomach.

This wasn't safe. I was letting Bella put herself in danger for me, for something as frivolous as my twenty-eighth birthday. I felt fucking selfish.

We walked around the crowded halls, people snapping pictures of us when they recognized my face, and every flash was like a knife to my chest.

Victor could see these pictures. He could recognize her, or Emmett with me. He could track me down, and use me to find her.

The image of my nightmares flashed through my mind, but these ones were worse. In them there was a faceless man, running his hands over her broken body, and ripping the feathers out of my angel's wings.

"Relax Edward," she murmured beside me, squeezing my arm. I realized I had started shaking.

"I can't. This isn't safe. You're not safe here."

"This _is_ okay Edward. Please, just try to relax. I want you to have fun tonight."

I nodded, but couldn't bring myself to smile.

We ended up in a private box, where there was a stocked bar, and a table covered in trays of food; stuffed mushroom caps, little puff pasties with creamed beef and salmon, coconut shrimp, chocolate dipped fruits, all sorts of things. Emmett started pouring drinks for everyone as we settled into our seats.

It was hypnotizing watching Bella take off her jacket, seeing the way her wings moved as her shoulder blades shifted from the movement.

My angel.

She wasn't safe here with me.

She sat down next to me, and watched me worriedly for a long minute before sighing, then taking a photo out of her purse. She handed it to me.

"What's this?"

"A picture of me when I was thirteen. Victor hasn't seen me face to face since then."

She didn't have to explain any more. If it wasn't for her chocolate brown eyes, I would never have associated her with the woman who was sitting beside me. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and light blue denim shorts. Her thick, messy hair was barely brushing her shoulders, her cheeks a little chubby, and a warm bronzed tan covered her skin.

"He could have pictures of you since then though, couldn't he?"

"You know how I usually dress though." She didn't say no, but I could see what she meant. She was good with her disguises. No one would recognize her now as the ninja from the club, or the conservative-yet sexy librarian from the historical society, or the angry self-defence teacher and spinning instructor from the gym.

I relaxed slightly, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Okay?" She whispered quietly.

This was only one night. Tomorrow we'd go back to our secretive life. She would be okay.

"Okay." I smiled at her, and felt her relax as I wrapped an arm around her, leaning in and kissing her. Emmett made a gagging noise.

"Fuck off Emmett, I've had to watch you and Rose for two years," she growled, kissing me again. I chuckled, holding her a little more tightly.

After I was able to relax, the drinks didn't stop coming. A big cake was brought in, and they all sang Happy Birthday to me. I laughed when I recognized the cake. It was the chocolate cheesecake we had gotten the first time Bella came to LA with me, and egged, TP'd and set a bag of dog shit on fire on Tanya's front step.

It was even more delicious than I remembered.

I opened a couple presents. This evening was my present from Bella, and I still found it amusing that she seemed just as well off as I did. It was still too much though; the suite, the limo, whatever concert this was, and that fucking dress. But Emmett and Rose got me a new Rolex, and Alice and Jasper got me season tickets for the Yankee's next season. We snacked on cake and hors d'oeuvres, emptying bottle after bottle of champagne, until the lights dimmed and the musicians filed out on stage, the hall filled with the screams of crazed fans.

My face split into a giant grin when Metallica came on stage, and we got shit faced, singing along off key with the blaring sound of the music. They had a surprise halfway through the concert though, where the four Cellist's came up and joined them.

It was the most amazing concert I'd ever been too, the rarity that was Metallica and Apocalyptica playing together. I had seen them twice before, Metallica being my favourite band, but this was by far the best, made even better having the love of my life tucked under my arm.

When the show ended, we waited in our suite while the crowds made their way out. I was by no means in a rush to leave, so we sat comfortably, talking to each other loudly over the ringing in our ears, until there was a knock on the door. Bella sprang to her feet, dashing to the door, and I felt the colour drain out of my face as the band filed into our room.

James Hetfield gave my girlfriend a fucking hug. She looked slightly uncomfortable with the gesture but was trying hard not to show it. When he let her go, she turned to smile at me, biting her lip. She led him over, and he gave me a giant fucking smile while reaching out to shake my hand.

"Hey."

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. My fucking idol is talking to me.

I coughed, trying to clear my throat. "Hey?"

He laughed. "I hope you don't mind. Angel here said if I came up I might get an autograph," he said with a big grin. "I'm a big fan."

I gaped at Bella, and she was watching me with an amused grin. That look relaxed me a little, helping me to organize my thoughts.

"Only if I can get one in return, I'm an even bigger fan," I said, almost bouncing in excitement. He laughed, and they all came into our room, taking seats while Jasper poured drinks for everyone with trembling hands. They hung out with us for about twenty minutes, giving me a band shirt with all of their signatures and a big "Happy Birthday Edward" written on the back. They asked me some questions about some of my films, and I hooked them all up with tickets to the premiere in January, telling them I'd have my agent mail them first thing in the morning.

I couldn't even bring myself to be angry when he kissed my girlfriend on the cheek when they left, though I can't say I fucking liked it either.

My mind was spinning as we walked back to our limo, Bella leaning against my arm as she swayed slightly, her cheeks flushed. Emmett was carrying Rose over his shoulder, she kept tripping, and was giggling loudly. There were still photographers outside, but we got in quickly, and I took off Bella's sunglasses as soon as the door closed behind us, taking her face tightly in my hands and kissing her until she needed to gasp for a breath.

"Did that seriously just happen?" I asked her, still having trouble processing the evening I'd just had.

She just grinned at me, her fingers fiddling with my tie as she leaned into me.

"How do you know James fucking Hetfield?"

"My tattoo artist had done a couple of his tattoos. I was with him when I found out they were playing on your birthday. They jumped at the chance to meet the _infamous Edward Cullen_."

I shook my head. This was all just too much. Bella was too much. How could I repay her for something like this? I couldn't even take her out to fucking dinner. There were so many things I wanted to do for her. What was the point in having millions if you couldn't use it on the one person who meant more to you than everyone else in the world? I knew she was well off, she didn't even care about money. But with her three jobs, the jobs she did on the side, her building, and having shares in both the biggest gym and most popular club in New York city… Was there anything I could give her that she didn't already have? She had everything she wanted in her little apartment, and never asked for anything.

What could I possibly give her? What did she even see in me? She wasn't dating me for my money or because I was famous. She couldn't have, and didn't want, the fame and the spotlight that came with being with an actor.

I didn't deserve her.

"Hey, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I should have checked with you first before I offered for them to meet you, I-"

I shut her up with another kiss, crushing her in my arms.

"I love you Bella. So fucking much. I don't deserve you. I want to give you everything in the world, and it kills me that I can't do it without putting you in danger. Thank you for being with me, for having me in your life. You're everything to me, the most important person in the world. I love you."

I had whispered the words into her ear while I held her, hiding the intensity of the emotions I was feeling in my eyes from the others with her as my shield. She started combing her fingers through my hair soothingly.

"I don't want anything Edward. Just you. I just want to be with you." She was quiet for a few seconds, and when she spoke again her voice was so quiet that I almost didn't hear her. "I love you too."

I froze under those words, my heart stopping and my breath getting caught in my throat. I leaned away from her, holding her face in my hands as I watched her closely.

"You do?" I had to make sure she said them, that this was real, that I hadn't lost my mind.

"I do," she said, smiling back at me nervously.

I kissed her again, _hard,_ and she was shaking as her arms wrapped around me tightly.

_Bella loves me._

We dropped off Jasper and Alice first, then Rose and Emmett. I held Bella tightly in my lap while we drove away from them, and froze when the limo parked outside of my apartment.

"We're not going over to your place?" I asked, surprised. We always spent Thursday nights at her place.

"We can, but you brought your stuff home yesterday and I didn't think you'd want to sleep in that suit," she said with a smile. I let out a shaky breath. "I have to ditch the limo though, and I probably shouldn't drive over with you in this dress. Meet me back at my place?"

"Perfect," I said, leaning in and giving her one more long kiss before climbing to the back of the limo and stepping out. I couldn't keep the grin off of my face as I walked through the small crowd in front of my building, and went upstairs. I had a quick shower and got changed into some jeans and a sweater, before throwing some things into a bag. As I waited for Riley, I took the time to shoot an e-mail to Tyler, giving him the address to send the tickets to. He'd been annoying the shit out of me lately, not that that was really new, but he did have his uses. I had one from him too, talking about the transportation for the premiere that had a bunch of attachments of different pictures of cars in it.

That's when the idea hit me. Looking at that beautiful charcoal Aston Martin's picture in the pile of attached photos.

I knew the name, because Bella had a picture of an older one on her shelf.

I replied back to Tyler, telling him that I didn't care about the transportation, but that I wanted that fucking car. I wanted it with purple leather seats, and I wanted it within the next week. I didn't care about the price, I told him to just make it happen.

Feeling accomplished, I put on a tuque and some sunglasses before I rode down the elevator with a smile. Riley actually spoke without a prompt, wishing me a happy birthday before we drove in silence to Bella's. She was coming down from the roof with Zeus as I stepped off of the elevator, her hair wet and already dressed for bed. I only let go of her to change into some flannel pants before curling around her in her comfortable bed, holding her tightly against me.

"This was the best birthday I've ever had Bella. Thank you for this, for everything." I grinned. "I think this was technically our first date though, wasn't it?"

She laughed, "Yeah, I think it was." She cuddled into me more closely, and I tightened my hold on her. "I wish we could do stuff like this more often. I'm so-"

"No, don't even. I don't want to ever hear you fucking apologize again Bella."

She laughed. "Okay." Her arm wrapped around my waist. "Happy Birthday Edward."

I almost said happy birthday back to her, making myself smile.

"Thank you," I whispered back, kissing the top of her head.

. . . . . . . . . .

**For those of you thinking that it was a stupid idea for Bella to have done what she did… I'll be addressing that later, so please don't yell at me ;) Besides that, what did you think of his birthday present?**

**For Edward, this chapter was mostly filler, I know, sorry, but it was still important to the story. But hey, you got three pretty big words still. How do you guys feel about that?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Song: Christmas in Saranjevo by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra****  
****And a whole bunch more Christmassy songs. Since we all just finished with the holidays, I don't really expect anyone to go looking, but the above song is my favourite.**

**Long chapter today kiddies! I wasn't going to be cruel and cut this in half though. Pretty sure I warned you eons ago that****this story isn't for children****. Just sayin'.**

**Thanks to those who have left reviews, your words and feedback are what makes posting these stories so enjoyable. :)**

. . . . . . . . . .

By the time I got back in the afternoon, Bella had just finished getting ready, stepping out of her washroom just after I came in and dropped my bag by her dresser. I'm pretty sure my heart actually stopped for a moment.

"God damn it Bella," I growled, leaning back against the wall and running my hands through my hair in frustration when I saw her.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, "I'll change, this is stupid," she rushed out. She reached back to her rack of clothes, her hands trembling.

Then I noticed that her eyes were starting to water.

Oh, fuck. _Smooth_, asshole.

I dashed across the room, grabbing her and pushing her against the wall as I kissed her firmly. It did the trick though and she stopped moving.

"You don't look stupid, you look fucking gorgeous," I growled.

"Then why are you mad at me?"

I sighed. "I'm not mad at _you_, I'm mad at myself, because I'm not going to be able to take my hands off of you. How am I supposed to last the night in front of _my parents_?" She was wearing a fitted red dress. It had a high collar and long sleeves, hugging her torso beautifully and flaring out at the waist, going down to her knees with white stockings and black heels. Her hair was curled, and partially pinned back, cascading down her back in thick ringlets.

She sniffled, looking up at me in panic with wide eyes. I reached up and swiped a tear off her cheek gently with my thumb. "Shhh, don't cry baby. Why are you so nervous? You know they're going to love you. You've even already met them before."

I was a little uneasy now, where had this person come from? Bella looked completely terrified, frazzled, and unsure of herself. A little sick even. This was not my Bella. Something was really off.

"That was different, and you know it. What if they don't like me? What if they want you to stop seeing me? What if they ask questions about my… situation? What would I tell them? What if _other_ people ask? We can't-" She closed her eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath to try and calm herself.

I pulled her over to the bed, settling her down on my lap and taking her face gently in my hands.

"They won't _like_ you, they'll _love_ you. I know they'll love you because_I_ love you, and because you're an indescribably amazing woman. They won't want you to stop seeing me, and even if they did for some fucked up reason I wouldn't." I paused, searching her eyes while I tried to figure out how to answer her harder questions. What would she be comfortable with them knowing? "Bella, I don't want you to have to go through talking about what happened to you, because I know how painful it is for you and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. If you're comfortable letting me, I can give my parents the cliff note version just so they're aware of what we need to avoid, and how fucking paramount it is to me that your safety not be jeopardized. They can help us deal with everything else, I know for certain they will. I would never do it without your permission though, I respect you too much." Her tears were coming a little heavier now, and I couldn't help but smile at the fact that she rarely wore make up. She didn't have any of that black crap running down her face. Even when she cried, she was painfully beautiful. "You're my family now, which means so are they, and we protect our family no matter what." I swiped away her tears before wrapping my arms around her waist.

I didn't have a name for the intense emotion in her big eyes. It was fucking magnetic, like the force of it was shifting my very soul. Her hands had a bit of a shake to them as she brought them up to my face, combing her fingers back through my hair while her lips turned up into a smile.

"I love you," she whispered, looking me deeply in the eyes.

"I love you too," I told her loudly, grinning brightly at her.

She leaned in and kissed me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders and it shot that addictive, electric energy though my body. Her lips tasted like peppermint today, and her strawberry fragrance was spiced with a hint of cinnamon. As my hands moved up her back, pulling her in closer, her fingers slid into my hair, teasing and gripping it as my lips became a little more hungry. She just felt so fucking good. She matched my force though, and I let myself lean back against her pile of purple pillows as her hands lightly pushed back on my shoulders.

I probably should have known better than to do that, but I hadn't been expecting it from Bella. She shifted on me, I hadn't realized what an awkward position it would have put her in when she was sitting across my lap. But she twisted on top of me, her hands still on my shoulders as she straddled my hips. My grip on her tightened automatically, and her hands slid back into my hair. My hands went down her ribs, adoring the curves of her hips. It was instinctual for them to go lower, sliding down her thighs and hooking under the hem of her dress before sliding back up. Halfway up her thighs my fingers met the incredibly soft skin of her legs, and I moaned softly against her lips as my fingers met the lace hem of her underwear.

I didn't have time to catch myself and stop when I realized what I was doing, completely consumed by the sensation as her lips opened against mine, and she ran the tip of her hot little tongue against my bottom lip.

I pretty much growled as I flipped her over, pinning her on her back as my lips hungrily moved down her jaw and trailed over her throat. My hands went up her stomach, cupping her breasts, and she let out an intensely arousing moan.

Then someone knocked on the door.

It snapped me out of my daze, and I sat up quickly on my knees, my head snapping to the direction of a sound when the world came crashing back into existence. I looked back down as her quickly.

"Holy fuck," I blurted, my eyes going wide as I saw her. She was breathing just as heavily as I was, her cheeks brightly flushed as she looked up at me with mixed emotions warring in her eyes. My reaction to her made her lips twitch into a small smile though. Her dress was still pushed up, giving me a perfect view of her open legs. She was wearing these small, white and blue lace boy-shorts that matched the lace of her thigh-highs, and they looked like they were practically painted onto her body.

And was that a new tattoo? I could barely fucking think.

"Baby, what the fuck are you wearing?"

She pouted. "I thought guys liked this sort of thing?" She said kind of nervously, fixing her dress and she shuffled back.

"You… you're wearing this for me?" What did that mean? She wanted me to see it? Did that-

The knock on the door was much louder this time.

Bella shifted out of the bed quickly, leaving me there frozen. She smoothed out her dress, straightening out her collar and fluffing her hair. She looked over at me, where I was still frozen, gaping at her, and bit her lip.

"That'll be Emmett, you might want to… Sorry." She turned and dashed over to the door when the knocks got impatient, and I glanced down at my tenting pants. Fuck. I made my way over to her bathroom as quickly as I could while I heard the sound of the others coming in and wishing Bella a Merry Christmas, and tried to get my shit under control.

Nothing like that had ever happened with Bella before. Of course I thought about it pretty much constantly, I was only human, but I had never lost control like that or even let my hands wander. Much. We'd had some pretty fucking intense make-out sessions that put my teenage years to shame, but I had never let it progress further than that. It was for obvious reasons, I couldn't let myself overwhelm her and I knew how new, intense and scary this whole thing was for her. Fuck, just kissing her was more pleasurable than any sex I had ever had before, as much of a tool as that makes me sound like. Just holding her was more fulfilling to me than anything else.

Because nothing else in the world could ever compare to the connection I felt with her.

But when I had touched her, she hadn't even flinched. She had been acting a little weird, nervous, but… eager at the same time. The way she had looked up at me, all fucking ruffled and aroused… She was wearing fucking lingerie.

Fuck. An excited grin spread across my face.

I groaned when I heard laughter from the living room, and looked at my watch.

It was only four o'clock, and we probably wouldn't get back home until midnight. It was bad enough seeing her in that red dress, now how was I supposed to survive the next eight hours, knowing what was underneath it?

I jumped when Bella slid into the bathroom with me, giving me a guilty and worried look. "I'm sorry about that, I hadn't meant to… It was going to be a surprise, but you distracted me with your fucking romantic Jedi words," she said uncomfortably. She was having more difficulty staying still than usual.

"I'm fine," I told her quickly, smiling down at her. "Sorry, you just really caught me by surprise." I walked over to her, sliding my hands down her arms when I stood in front of her. Her earlier, worrisome mood had me worried again, but I think I got it now. I had to make sure though, so I could ease her mind. "You wanted to… surprise me?" She fidgeted, but there was nowhere for her to go when I had her backed against the door. I tilted her chin up to look at me. "Talk to me Bella, you know you can talk to me about anything," I said softly, cupping her face.

I waited patiently, giving her time to get her bearings as we watched each other's eyes. "Edward… you've been so patient with me, you've never pressured me into doing anything, ever… and the fact that you love me enough to be like that with me…" Her eyes started to water. "I love you, and I want to be with you. I want more, but…"

"But what?" Her heavy breathing started to make her shake, and I held her tightly to try and sooth her. I was pretty sure I already knew, but I needed her to be able to talk to me about it. She still had nightmares of what happened to her. How could she not, when the sick fuck kept doing it over and over to other women, and having it thrown back in her face time and time again? He wouldn't _let_ her forget. "Tell me, it's okay."

"I can still feel his hands on me," she whispered a couple minutes later. "When I'm sleeping, sometimes when I just close my eyes for too long, when someone reaches out and touches me… it's been eight years, and I still remember every second of that night like it happened hours ago. Sometimes it's so overwhelming that I can't even breathe."

"What about when I touch you? Do I make you think of him?" It was one of my biggest fears, but I'd only hit a bad trigger once, that time she'd been asleep a few weeks ago.

"You don't. It's just… You're the only person besides him who's ever even kissed me, and though it's so completely different… he's still there." She tried to pull away from me, but I held her securely. No, she wasn't scared of me, she was scared of herself. "I'm sorry, this is so fucked up, I shouldn't-"

"No Bella, I want you to talk to me about these things. I want to know, and I want you to be comfortable talking to me about it. I've told you before, I'm not going anywhere." She nodded against me, and I pulled back slightly so I could watch her face. I gave her a teasing grin, trying to lighten her mood a bit. "And as much as you know I want you, that I'm crazy to have you," I said in a low voice, sliding my hands down her sides appreciatively, "I'm not in any rush, and I don't want you to be either."

"I'm not rushing through this whole thought process, I've been thinking about it for a long time," she told me shyly. "I love being close to you, I want to be with you… and I'm tired of being afraid because of him."

I had to take a settling breath. "How long have you been thinking about… this?" I asked curiously. I was trying to distract myself from taking her right there against the bathroom door.

"Well, I've always thought about it. It was just the last couple of weeks that I actually started considering it," she said shyly.

"Always?" I asked with a cocky grin. She didn't falter though, leaning into me.

"You really have no idea what you do to me, do you?"

My moment of fluster seemed to calm her down a little, and she gave me a sad smile while looking at me appreciatively. Her hands went down my chest and slowly trailed down my stomach. "But if you want to wait…" her hands went lower, over my belt, and I sucked in a sharp breath when her fingers barely brushed over the tension building in my pants.

I grabbed her wrists, pinning them against the wall as my lips attacked hers, pushing her against the wall with my body.

"I'm done waiting if you are," I growled, letting go of her wrists as my hands slid under her skirt again. She giggled as my teeth grazed her ear lobe and I exhaled against her, and she started to try and wiggle away. I groaned when I heard the laughter from the living room.

"Maybe not just this minute though," she said, her voice a little strained. I laughed.

"Sorry, I completely forgot they were here," I said, nuzzling my face into her neck as I held her. I couldn't let her go yet, the emotions were just too strong in this moment.

"I uh… told Emmett what we had been talking about, with your parents… I told them to just give us a couple minutes to talk. Rose got a driver for us for the evening, so they're making drinks right now."

Just like that, seeing the fear in her eyes once again, everything else went to the back of my mind. "So, would it be okay with you if I talk them? You wouldn't even have to be there. We'll be there before the others, I'd just take them aside and talk to them when we get there." I watched her hopefully while she considered my words, and the most prominent emotion in her eyes was guilt. It was nothing compared to my guilt though. Why hadn't I thought about this beforehand? I didn't blame her for not bringing it up sooner, I hated seeing her torture herself with worry like this. No matter what though, I'd make sure she'd be safe, even if it meant not staying with the others tonight. I needed to be with her.

And I'm pretty sure she needed me too.

"Please Bella, let me do this for you. It's not a weakness to let someone help you. I really don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Her voice was so quiet, unsure, yet hopeful. I gave her a reassuring smile, cupping her cheek with my right hand.

"I'm positive."

She let out a deep breath, and nodded to me.

"I know this is hard for you, but I'm so proud of you. Tonight is going to be amazing. You don't have to worry about a thing, just try and enjoy it."

She smiled at me, reaching up and wrapping her arms around my neck. "I love you Edward. I can't believe how lucky I am, having someone as amazing as you in my life. You've changed everything for me, I never thought I'd be able to have this sort of happiness. Thank you."

"I love you too," I told her proudly, then grinned excitedly as I leaned in, brushing my lips against her ear as I spoke in a deep whisper. "And I can't wait to show you just how much when we get home tonight." Her hands fisted in my shirt as her breath hitched in her throat, and I kissed her neck, biting her gently before taking a quick step back away from her with a grin.

The look she was giving me, I'm surprised my clothes didn't just burst into flames right there.

"Let's go open some presents!" I said happily, spinning her around and leading her out of the bathroom with a hand on her back. She huffed, giving me a frustrated look, and shoved me away playfully before walking ahead of me. I caught her wrist.

"By the way, you're not getting your present until we get home."

She gave me a curious look. "Why?"

"Because I want you to have more time to admire it without worrying about entertaining the others."

She looked at me suspiciously, and I smiled as I started moving us toward the living room again.

Bella turned for the kitchen as I went over and gave everyone hugs. We all sat together on the couch, and Bella sat a big platter of fruit and cookies on the table. Rose had made some pretty awesome drinks, it was almost like a smoothie, done with ice, Bailey's, Crème du Cocoa, Kahlua, rum and vanilla ice cream. There was a big punch bowl of it on the table, and Bella put on her Trans-Siberian Orchestra CD's before we exchanged gifts.

I was smiling, watching Zeus gnawing on and rolling around with the giant bone I had gotten him. It was as big as one of his large legs, and the boy looked like he had died and gone to heaven. Bella and I had done our gifts for the others together, and the four of them were excitedly reading through the brochures for the cruise to the Caribbean they'd all be taking together in a couple weeks. Bella dropped back down next to me on the couch, and handed me a large, flat box.

"I don't mind you making me wait, but you can still open yours now if you want," she said excitedly.

"I'd love to," I replied quickly, kissing her as I took the box. The paper was a metallic green, and had one of her giant home-made bows centered on the top. I untied it carefully, wanting to keep the bow, and smiled brightly as I removed the lid and took out the gorgeous leather jacket. It was jet black, matte, and the softest leather I had ever felt. I slid it on quickly, thumbing over the soft, dark green silk on the inside. I paused, and looked at the inside pocket when I felt something odd. There was short line embroidered on the inside over the left breast.

_I love you baby__  
__-Bella_

"You had it personalized," I exclaimed, smiling brightly as I ran my thumb over the words.

"I designed it, and Alice made it for me," she said happily.

"I fucking adore it, thank you Bella." She giggled as I grabbed her quickly, kissing her lips, her nose, her cheeks, her jaw, and her forehead until she pushed me away. I couldn't stop smiling. "And it's very fitting."

"I'm pretty sure Alice has your measurements memorized," she said with a grin. I shook my head.

"No, I mean having your name over my heart, because it belongs completely to you."

"_Awww!"_ My sister and Rosalie squealed together, and I felt my ears burn red as I tried to pretend I hadn't heard them. Bella laughed at my expression, kissing me again gently and trailing her fingers down the side of my face.

My dad was allergic, so we couldn't bring Zeus with us which seemed to make Bella feel really guilty. She left the TV on for him, and even made a special dinner for him before we left. Emmett told me quietly that she'd never spent a holiday without him by her side since she first got him as a puppy.

He didn't even notice us leave though, sleeping in his bed under the Christmas tree, curled up with his giant bone.

We were met in the garage by the large car Rose had hired, piling in before making the forty-minute drive over to my parent's house. When we pulled through the rolling gates to the community, Bella bit her lip and tightened her grip on my hand as we drove down the quiet, expansive lane past the looming mansions. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, fiddling with her seat belt when we finally stopped in front of the house.

"Hey Alice," I said, leaning over the back of her seat. "I need to talk to mom and dad when we get in, just to make sure that there won't be any complications. Watch her for me?"

"Of course," she said quickly, before hopping out. I popped Bella's belt buckle, and kissed her before pulling her out with me. She relaxed, and put on a confident face as I wrapped my arm around her and walked up the steps, and mom was throwing the door open before we made it all the way up. I grinned as mom pulled Bella into a tight hug immediately, and she froze, looking at me with terrified eyes before hesitantly hugging her back. Dad shook her hand more politely, and mom stole her back again, telling her how nice it was to see her again, and how lovely her dress was as she led everyone into the living room. When she ushered Bella onto the love seat I caught her, pulling her back gently.

"Mom, I really need to talk to you and dad about something, could we go somewhere for a couple minutes?"

She looked at me worriedly, but nodded quickly before excusing us, and pulled dad along to the kitchen with us. We sat down at the small round table in the kitchen where we always ate when it was just the four of us.

"She's lovely Edward, why haven't you brought her around before? Is she this mystery woman they were talking about in the papers? Are you two serious? You've barely talked about her. I didn't think you'd actually bring her by."

Yeah, I hadn't really mentioned to Bella that this was the first time I had brought someone home to meet my parents, she had been stressed enough as it was.

"Well, that's kind of what I need to talk to you about," I said, steadying myself and looking them directly in the eyes. I'd thought about it constantly for the last couple hours, and really, there was no easy or gentle way to explain our situation. There was nothing simple about it, but I ripped off the Band-Aid and gave them the simplest explanation that I could. "We are serious, I love Bella, more than I've ever loved anything in my life. No one can know who she is though because… Well, she has this stalker that's looking her. It's dangerous for her to be with me, if the media somehow got a hold of her name or a picture of her face, it would compromise her safety. I _can't_ let anyone find out who she is, which is why we've been so quiet about it." They were looking at me, stunned, worried, and I leaned forward quickly, my hands pushing down on the table as I pleaded with my eyes. "I love her mom, I _need_ to be with her, and I can't risk her being in danger. If we're going to stay here with the family tonight, I need to be certain that they won't... ask too many questions, go repeating her name or sharing any pictures of her. We always call her B in public, nothing else, and they can't know what she does. I can't risk them letting it slip to a friend or a co-worker. She can't be traced until they find him. _He can't find her_. I'm sorry."

I leaned back in my chair, folding my hands in my lap as I waited for their response, forcing myself to remain quiet and be patient while they absorbed my words.

I really wished I had talked to them about this earlier, forcing it on them so suddenly wasn't easy, but the decision to come had been so last minute. Really, I was just so happy that she had agreed to come that I didn't think about anything else.

"Is this why there was so much security at the wedding?" My dad asked curiously.

"Yes, Emmett tries to keep as low a profile as possible with his business so she won't be found through him. We don't want the others to know they're related."

"Well, I'm sure if we just explained to everyone at dinner, they'd understand and respect the fact that we need to be delicate about the matter…" My dad said, not really sounding confident in the words.

"No," I said quickly. "That is why _I'm_ the one telling you this. I won't let Bella sit through an evening of being asked personal questions by people she doesn't know. What he did to her… he hurt her, and did horrible things to her dad. It makes me sick even just thinking about it. This is why I'm the one telling you this, I can't let her go through having to re-live that. I know I'm asking a lot of you both, and I'm sorry, but-"

"Of course we'll help," mom interrupted. She had tears shimmering in her eyes, but her expression was fierce. "We'll make sure she's safe. We can misplace the cameras for the evening, and we'll help you with your grandparents. Besides, B sounds cute. What _can_ we tell the others about her?"

"I think it will be safest to just tell the others that she teaches a few programs at Emmett's gym. It's not a lie actually, she just sees it as more of a hobby than an actual job," I said with a smile, shaking my head.

My mom was eager to get back to the others, and I saw her restrain herself from immediately pulling Bella into another hug. We all sat down together in the living room, mom quickly topping off everyone's wine and bringing out trays of snacks before wedging herself in between Alice and Bella. She tensed slightly, although her face looked completely calm, but I felt her shoulders relax when I draped my arm over them.

Mom kept an easy, steady stream of questions and conversation with Bella. Nothing too intrusive, they talked about books and music, hobbies and recipes. It was obvious instantly that mom adored her, and I couldn't blame her. Bella had quickly fallen for her charms, and within minutes of talking she was back to her usual confident, witty self. When the others arrived, she quickly introduced her as B to them, and we had kind of lucked out that they hadn't been able to go to Rose's wedding. They would have recognized her immediately as Emmett's sister with this red dress, and all three of my grandparents were horrible gossips. My aunt and uncle just sort of went with it, which made me wonder what they already knew. They went out of their way to stay out of a conversation with her. After everyone was settled mom went to start in the kitchen, and beamed when Bella asked if she could help. I was a little sad to lose her, but thrilled that they were getting along so well.

It went a lot better than I had hoped for. My Grandparents were polite, but didn't get to talk to Bella too much because they were constantly steered away by my mom, Rose, and Alice. Talking about weddings and businesses and travel whenever their curiosity towards my girlfriend became too personal, specific or endangering. My father's father didn't talk to me often as a general rule, and he seemed to put Bella into that same position.

And Bella was happy. She was enjoying herself, relaxing, laughing. We had a wonderful dinner, the conversation getting louder as the case of imported Italian wine my grandfather brought slowly disappeared. After dessert a few presents were exchanged, and I caved pretty quickly when my mom asked me to play some Christmas songs for her.

I had ulterior motives though, there had been something I'd wanted to try for a very long time. I stopped by my bag in the front foyer first, taking out Bella's violin case, and setting it down on the long oak bench beside me without a word. I lifted the cover off of the keys and stretched my fingers with some scales before moving into a melody. Bella came and joined me a few minutes later, and I grinned up at her as she eyed her violin case, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Is that supposed to be a hint?" she asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow at me.

"More like a hopeful request," I said with a bright smile. She smiled back, picking the case up, and resting it on her lap as she sat on the bench next to me. With the melody of the keys floating though the room, the boisterous conversation from the other end of the large room became non-existent to me. It was easy to forget about the rest of the world; Bella's smile had a habit of just making everything else fade away, but I was able to easily stick to my rhythm. I'd been playing these songs for almost twenty years.

I knew she had been playing a long time, and that she was very talented, but it wasn't something I heard often and I didn't know what songs she knew. I'd never heard her play anything classical before. So I just sat quietly with her, my arm brushing against hers as we sat tucked together on the bench, and shifted seamlessly from song to song while she listened with her eyes closed and a small smile playing on her lips.

"I've never played along with a piano before," she said quietly before worrying her bottom lip. I grinned.

"Mmm, but I can play along with you. You can take a lead."

"You sound pretty confident," she said with a teasing smile.

"I am," I told her truthfully.

She laughed. "Okay." She undid the clasps on her case, taking out her violin and bow before setting the hard leather case on the floor, then she shifted on the bench and I saw her predicament. I stopped playing to twist and easily lifted her, setting her up on the polished mahogany of the piano. She laughed at the quick eagerness of my movements, blushing slightly as she smiled down at me. I just watched her there for a moment, something I would have been contented with to do for the rest of the night if I was honest and had the option. She looked angelic, sitting on top of my favourite instrument and smiling down at me. I waited patiently for her to start, and she thought for a moment, spinning her bow expertly like a baton before taking it to her violin very slowly. She closed her eyes as she slid her bow across the strings.

In one bar I recognized the song as Carol of the Bells, and her smile grew as I came in quietly with light notes, not wanting to overpower the angelic melody. We grew in the strength of our sounds, and I was watching her, not the keys as I followed her lead.

It was effortless and beautiful, and within minutes it felt like we'd been playing together for years.

"Christmas Canon," she breathed as the song came into its end, and she fluidly shifted into the next song as I accompanied her.

"March of the Nutcracker?" I asked quietly as we came into an end, and she nodded, shifting into the song with the light quick beat as she finished the ending of the last tune, leading me into it. We were both grinning along with the lighter sound.

"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," she whispered, then waited two bridges until I'd shifted into the tune.

"Greensleeves," I added in lastly, wanting to finish in something slow.

The music we created together… I don't know how to describe the way it made me feel. It was effortless, natural, and beautiful. We melded together with immediate ease, and the two different sounds fit so perfectly together. We barely spoke a dozen words, we didn't read, we just played. The way it touched me… it was so much different than doing other things together, like reading, playing darts or running. These were emotions that sang through our chosen tools, something so personal, so deep, that while sharing and dancing with each other through the new medium it felt like our souls were touching, melding, and I knew in complete certainty that after this moment I would never be the same. This was more than love, it was kismet, soul mates, we complimented each other perfectly and had been made for each other. She would be a part of me for all eternity; I knew even death would hold no challenge against the love I felt for her.

And as she met my eyes while we played that last song, I saw that she felt it too. We didn't need words, because no words could truly describe it. We just felt it. This was so, _so_ right. _We_ were right.

As my notes came to an end and she lowered her violin, I stood up slowly, never breaking eye contact with her as I took her face gently in my hands, holding her tenderly as I kissed her. I felt that she was still holding her violin as she wrapped her arms around my neck, and we stood there for a few minutes with our foreheads pressed together, just soaking in the moment.

I didn't notice the complete silence until someone sniffled, and we both turned around to find we were surrounded and being watched by the entire room. When they moved to join us I couldn't say, and I really wasn't sure now how I felt about them hearing something that felt so incredibly personal to me.

Mom was the one who had been crying, and she was also the one who spoke.

"That was… That was so beautiful," she almost whispered. The others just nodded, and I could practically feel Bella's unease rolling off of her as well.

"Thank you," I said, and turned back to Bella, shielding her from the rest of the room with my back. She gave me a timid smile, and I leaned in and kissed her softly, just below her ear. "I love you," I whispered quietly into her ear, holding her and not wanting to ever let her go. She whispered her words back, and I kissed her once more, gently on her lips, and then lifted her off the piano. I kept my hand on the small of her back as we went back and joined the others.

Eventually we were pulled back into conversation with the others, but they barely existed to us. We could barely look away from each other, and spent the entire night holding hands and talking quietly to each other, and answering questions from the others every once in a while.

We left with our group in Rose's car again just after midnight, mom practically in tears and demanding that I bring Bella over again soon so that they could spend some real time together. Dad… I'm not sure what was going on with him. He was polite to Bella, but didn't talk to her much, and I caught him giving us strained and stressed glances a few times. And as we left, I saw a glint in his eyes that told me that he wasn't exactly pleased with my mother's invitation. I really didn't see what his problem was, I thought he'd be happy for me, but it didn't matter. He'd have to get used to her, and I knew for certain that he wouldn't be able to resist her unique charm for long.

What worried me more was the fact that I thought Bella had noticed. She was quiet, looking very thoughtful as we made the drive home. They dropped us off first, and we waved as their car turned around and drove off. I stopped her when she went to walk away, taking her wrist to catch her attention, and she twisted my arm quickly as she spun around. She froze, her eyes going wide in surprise before grinning, and she bit her lip as she quickly let go of me. I couldn't help laughing.

I had to laugh, I needed to distract myself from how fucking hot her little ninja habits were.

"Sorry, I was distracted," she said sheepishly, not really sounding sorry. She moved closer, wrapping her arms around my waist and smiling up at me.

"Mmm, I like you distracted," I said, running my hands down her arms. "I want to give you your present now." I couldn't keep the excitement from leaking into my voice. She gave me a curious look, her eyes going wide when I started taking off my tie.

"What are you doing?" She asked nervously, her eyes darting around the quiet garage.

"You trust me, right?" She nodded, and it made me so happy that she didn't hesitate. "Then just stay still," I told her in a stern voice, stepping up to her again, and wrapping my tie over her eyes. I was quite surprised she was actually letting me do this, being blindfolded was probably against everything in her nature. She was tense, but she stayed still. I placed a hand on her lower back, and turned her as I walked her to the other side of the parking garage, the clicking of her heels echoing through the otherwise deathly silent room. I stopped her in front of the spot I had taken in the visitor's parking, and told her to stay still as I walked over and pulled the tarp off, folding it haphazardly and dropping it on top of the blue Nissan that was two spots over.

I turned back to her, and pursed my lips as I took her in. Her arms were wrapped around herself in her three-quarter-length, black leather coat, her styled hair slightly messy, and a small, uncomfortable frown on her full lips. I walked back over to her slowly, stepping behind her and brushing her hair over one shoulder as I lightly kissed the side of her neck, wrapping my arms around her waist. She stiffened, but remained perfectly still. The sight of her there, blindfolded, completely putting her trust in me, made my earlier hunger flare back to life inside of me. I decided to see how far I could push my luck, I couldn't bring myself to end this moment yet.

So I continued to move my lips along the curve of her neck very slowly, gently, and smoothed my hands over the curves of her hips as I pulled her back against my chest. As the tip of my nose skimmed along the shell of her ear, and my teeth lightly scraped her ear lobe, I heard her breath catch softly in her throat before she leaned back against me, tilting her neck slightly to give me better access. I removed her arms from their protective stance in front of her, then slid my hands into her open coat, moving them up her hips, her stomach, and gently cupped her breasts. A faint moan escaped her lips, making me grin.

She was liking this, and I was fucking loving it. It was an unspoken truth that Bella was the more… dominant personality in our relationship. It was weird for me at first, but her strength, confidence, and take-charge attitude were a few of the things that made me crazy about her.

But it was fucking pleasing being the one in control now.

This was something that I was more educated on then Bella. For once, I was going to teach _her_something, lead her, not the opposite way around.

I'd have to member this tie thing, but right now, I needed to get this gift out of the way so I could get her upstairs.

I stiffened at the thought alone, and I knew Bella felt it when her breath caught again. Without a word, I quickly yanked off the tie, not giving her a second to become uncomfortable.

She froze.

I stood there behind her quietly, patiently, letting her take in the big charcoal and jet black Aston Martin in front of her. She started shaking slightly, and turned her head to look at me in confusion. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the double set of electric keys with a big red bow on them, and took her hand to curl her fingers around them. She stared at them for a long minute, then looked at the car again, and I watched as tears filled her eyes.

She still hadn't said anything, and I was starting to feel self-conscious.

"Do you like it?" I asked hopefully, and a little nervously.

"This… you… I-" She bit her lip, and took in a shaking breath. "You got this for me?"

"Well, yeah." Obviously?

"You bought me a ca- you bought me an _Aston fucking Martin_?"

I grinned, seeing the burning excitement, adoration, and bewilderment in her eyes. Fuck yeah.

"Yes," I said, lightly pushing her towards the car. She looked down at the keys in her hand again, and lifted them curiously with a trembling hand before clicking the button. The lights flashed as the sound of the doors unlocking echoed in the quiet garage, and a strangled sound somewhere between a sob and a moan escaped her lips before she clapped her hand over her mouth. I opened the door for her, and she gasped as she saw the interior. They had convinced me not to do the entire thing in purple, and I was glad I followed their advice. The interior was a jet black, smooth leather. But inside the bucket seats and door panels there were large accents of a deep, dark violet leather.

She didn't step in. She spun around, jumping as she threw her arms around my shoulders and kissed me. I caught her easily, holding her up in my arms effortlessly as she attacked my lips. Her legs wrapped around my waist as she clung to me, and her lips moved down my jaw, my throat and back up the side of my neck, making it impossible to form a coherent thought.

"I love it Edward, it's fucking amazing. I can't believe you did this. Thank you, fuck, she's so beautiful, thank you."

"You've very welco-" she kissed me again, taking my face tightly in her hands. Her thighs were gripping onto me so tightly that I'm sure that if I let go of her she could have supported herself easily. I couldn't take my hands off of her though. They ran down her shoulders, her ribs, and I cupped her ass as I pulled her into me, pushing her against her car at the same time. The force of it pushed the air out of her, making her gasp. I devoured her neck with my lips as she moaned, gripping tightly onto my hair. The sound made me squeeze her more tightly.

As hot as this was, having her pressed up against the car panting in my ear, I wanted to do this right. I had to make this perfect for her. It's what she deserved.

"Let's go upstairs, we can play with your present tomorrow," I purred into her ear. I pulled away from her slightly, looking into her wide brown eyes and flushed cheeks.

Her expression reminded me of someone being dunked suddenly in ice-cold water, letting me know that she had gotten just as absorbed in that heat as I had. Her eyes darted around the garage nervously, and I set her down carefully when she quickly released her hold on me. I didn't take it personally when she moved away from me, looking nervous. I shouldn't have let that happen. Even if she had been the one to jump on me, I should have known that doing something like that, in a public place, would have that effect on her.

I was confident I could get her back once we were in the comfort of her home though, so I backed off slightly.

She helped me tuck her car back in, putting the cover back on after locking it, and gave it a sad, longing look as we left it behind. I could tell that she wanted to move it to a different spot, but I also knew she'd never put a key into an ignition with even a hint of alcohol in her system.

She didn't seem to relax much in the elevator. Her hand had twitched towards me a couple times, and on the third I just reached out and took it. I didn't let go until she dug through her purse to find her keys and unlocked the door. Zeus went nuts as soon as we got in, and we brought him right up to the roof. It was chilly out, but he needed to burn some energy, so as we stood up there with him I pulled Bella into my open jacket, wrapping myself around her to keep her warm.

I slid off her coat for her when we got back inside, seeming to surprise her with the action. I just grinned at her as I hung it up, and her returned smile looked slightly forced. She went over to the washroom quickly, and I sighed as I took off my shoes and dropped down on the couch, and patted Zeus' head.

"No matter what you hear tonight, you better come nowhere near that bed," I warned him in a teasing whisper. God, Bella's crazy was starting to wear off on me. She was in the washroom for a while, and I got up and poured myself a large glass of water which I finished quickly before sitting back down on the couch and trying to stop my knees from bouncing restlessly.

She came out then, looking just as stunning as she had in that red dress when I first got in this afternoon. She had brushed out her hair though, and it ran in thick, smooth waves down to her waist. I smiled at her, pulling her down next to me when she got close and wrapping her in my arms.

I couldn't ignore the tenseness of her shoulders.

"Bella, you know we really don't have to do anything," I told her gently, brushing her wavy hair behind her ear before kissing her temple. She seemed to relax slightly from my touch.

"I know," she said, resting her shaking hands on my chest. "But I want to."

"Are you really sure?" I asked, unable to stop my hands from running down her sides. She leaned into me, looking up at me nervously and smiling. She gave me a gentle nod, and that one little movement let the fire break through the weak damn I had built around it. I forced myself to move slowly though as I titled my head down and gently brought my lips to hers.

I was very delicate with that kiss, and as I held her closely, protectively in my arms, I felt the rest of the tension dissolve away from her body. Feeling her comfortable, happy in my arms, erased the last twinges of my worry. This was just _us_, this was right.

And after tonight, she would have no fear of this anymore. I was sure of it; I would_make_ sure of it.

I slid her legs across my lap, pulling her closer to me with my other arm around her back without breaking our kiss. As the tips of my fingers lightly trailed up her calf, she _giggled_, wiggling slightly as I went over the back of her knee. The beautiful, carefree sound made me smile against her lips, and she slid her arms around my shoulders. My lips became hungrier as she pulled herself closer to me, and her hands only had the faintest tremble to them as they moved down my stomach. I shivered when I felt her warm, soft fingers on my skin, the sensation shooting excitement through my body. I wanted to feel more of her on me, and eased my lips away from hers for a short moment as I slid both my button-down and undershirt off over my head at the same time.

I grinned as I watched her eyes trail over me, and she gave me an appreciative smile as her hands slid over my abdomen, her fingers tracing over the muscles on my stomach. The feeling was so intense, her tingling fingertips making it hard to think.

I grinned back, thankful for her obvious appreciation, before leaning in and kissing her again. The feeling of her hands moving over me was driving me crazy though. I wanted more of her; all of her. As I trailed the tip of my tongue along her lip as she had done earlier, her mouth opened against mine, and my hold tightened on her as our tongues lightly teased each other.

It was the most beautiful sort of torture, and her breaths were heavy as I let my lips move along her jaw. My movements were steady and deliberate as my fingers easily pinched onto the zipper on the back of her dress and slowly slid it down the length of her spine. She tilted her head back slightly as my lips moved down her throat, and along her shoulder as my hands slid the dress down her arms. She shimmied her arms out of the sleeves as I pulled them off, and she lifted her hips for me to slide the dress off when I leaned her back against the back of the couch.

It was a stunning sight, Bella leaning back against the black leather of her couch, in her lacy boy shorts and matching blue and white bra and thigh highs. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dark and sparkling, her lips slightly swollen from our kisses. I watched her for a long moment, enjoying seeing the reactions her body had to my touch as I slowly trailed my fingers along her collar bone, the curve of her breast along the cup of her bra, down her stomach, hip bone, and along her thigh. She took in an unsteady breath in a bit of a moan, closing her eyes.

She was just so fucking beautiful, and she was _mine_.

I let out a huff before scooping her up in my arms quickly, and standing up. Her eyes shot open.

"W-what are you doing?" She said, clinging to me in surprise.

"Moving you to the bed, I need more room for what I want to do to you," I growled, attacking her lips with mine again as I carried her across the long room. She let out a small squeak of surprise when I tossed her onto the middle of the bed, her face flushing red as I watched her with an excited grin, sliding off my belt and stepping out of my pants before crawling over to her.

"You're so beautiful," I murmured, trailing my fingers down her body again. Her breathing picked up, and I moved my lips hungrily along her collar bone. I'd dreamed about this for so long. I easily unclasped her bra with one hand, and something about the action made Bella smile against my lips before I tossed the lace onto the floor. The corners of my mouth were curved up triumphantly at the same time, but I froze as my hands slid down her bare back, feeling the large, scattered scars that stood out drastically compared to the faint lines of her wings. Those weren't from tattoos.

Bella froze at the same moment, going rigid in my arms. Her breath had caught in her throat, and I kissed her quickly, firmly, when I realized she was about to panic. I couldn't let her get the wrong idea about my reaction. I didn't want to her to be self-conscious; I had just been caught by surprise. There was the boiling anger from the knowledge that she had been harmed so badly, and I tried to push all of the different scenarios of what had happened to her out of my mind.

The conclusion reached me too quickly though. Victor. Having that name pop into my mind during what I was doing did something strange to me. I was so fucking angry. He had taken what this should have been away from her, he had tortured the other half of my soul, harmed what was _mine_. The burning anger was mixed with the overwhelming, desperate urge to really make her mine. I didn't want him to have any hold on her anymore, he couldn't have _any_ of her. My lips became rougher against hers, and the change in my mood seemed to have a positive effect on her. Her fingers dug into my shoulders sharply as her grip on me tightened, her fear seeming to dissolve once more as her chest started rising and falling more quickly with her heavy breathing. When she pulled her mouth away from mine to take in a real breath of air, my lips went back down to her neck, devouring her strawberry scent as my hands moved down her body. She gasped when my fingers traced over her nipples, running over them and teasing them with my thumbs, and my lips quickly followed, kissing over the incredibly soft skin of her breasts, then flicking over one of her small, stiff peaks with the tip of my tongue. She whimpered in arousal, the sexiest sound I'd ever heard in my life, squirming underneath me and making me harden in excitement. The look on her face, flushed, heated, and just completely gone already filled me with pride.

And more desire.

This was just so overwhelming, touching her like this. My craving to just be as close to her as possible, touching as much of her as I could at once, was staggering, all-consuming, making it hard to think. My body was just moving on autopilot, trying to quench that encompassing desire. The want, the need, seemed to tighten everything in my body; my muscles, my stomach, my heart, my fucking soul. She felt so perfect in my hands, and I just wanted to touch, taste and kiss every inch of her incredibly soft skin. My lips continued to make their way down her body, making me grin as I left a trail of kisses down her stomach that made her laugh. I loved how fucking ticklish she was, it was damn adorable, and it made me even happier that it showed how comfortable she was with me right now. I was smiling appreciatively as I trailed my fingers over the lace on her hips, the exposed skin of her thighs, and the trim of her stockings. Without my lips on her she seemed to get a little nervous again, so I tried to talk to make her more comfortable.

"I've never had this much fun un-wrapping a present before," I purred in a deep voice, making her grin with a bit of a shaky laugh before I trailed the tip of my tongue down her stomach. My fingers trailed over the design on her hip, taking my time to admire it as I traced it with my fingers.

This definitely was new, and it only took me a second to realize I had been expecting to see that scar on her hip that I had seen that first time at the gym with her. Now though, it was like new feathers had been added to her wings, that started to wrap around her hip, stretching towards it, and faded into a design of shaded blues and violets, little blank spots left throughout in the shapes of stars, that went over the scar and hid the mark artistically well, though I could still feel where it was. The colours were perfect for the tone of her skin; stunningly beautiful.

Is that why she had her wings? To prevent people from being able to see the scars on her back?

I left a long line of kisses down her hip over her hidden scar, and her breath caught in her throat as I kissed the inside of her thigh, just below her lacy shorts.

"This is new, right?" I asked quietly, trailing my fingers over it again, then tracing over the waist of her shorts, the tip of my finger dipping inside them slightly, running along her skin. Her breathing was becoming a little faster, and she seemed beyond words when she just nodded. "Well, it's fucking beautiful. I love it." My hands went down her legs, and I slowly removed both of her stockings, grinning like an idiot the entire time probably. I didn't care, Bella loved my enthusiasm. She watched me, biting her lip to cover her amused grin, and when I winked at her she laughed again.

There was nothing nervous about her anymore, not even as she lifted her hips and I slid off the last piece of her puzzle.

Fucking perfection. I had to give myself a minute just to appreciate the image in front of me, my flushed, aroused angel looking up at me with nothing but desire in her face. I leaned in, and her hands quickly cupped the back of my neck, pulling herself into me as she kissed me. It was too easy to get lost in that passionate kiss, feeling her stomach pressed up against mine, nothing but her skin on mine, her hands getting tangled it my hair, and moving all over my body. I pulled in a sharp breath when her fingers slid into my boxers, and wrapped around my hard member. I needed to stay in control of this situation though, it had been too long of a dry spell for me, and even though it was worth it, I didn't think I would last too long if she tried to take over.

I gently took her hands away, pinning them beside her head on her pillow before kissing her again. She gave me the most adorable fucking pout, and gasped when I bit that puffy red lip. I'd been waiting so long to do that, she tasted so fucking good.

"Not tonight," I whispered teasingly, "We'll have plenty of time for that next time," I growled suggestively. Her hands were gentle as they cupped my face, and I pulled back slightly to look into her big, guilty chocolate irises.

"Edward… I want this to be good for you too," she whispered, that shyness setting back into her. I shook my head, smiling as I kissed her throat, moving up her neck to just below her ear.

"Fuck Bella, this is good for me," I said in a low voice, nibbling on her ear lobe as I pushed my erection up against her, our skin separated only by the thin material of my boxers. Her breath caught in her throat again as her grip on me tightened. "I've been waiting a long time to touch you like this, and I'm fucking loving it. Now stop distracting me," I said teasingly, pinching one of her nipples. She gasped, and then moaned when I wrapped my lips around the spot, soothing the skin with a roll of my tongue. Her hands tried to leave the pillow again, and I grabbed them quickly with a grin, pushing them back down. If she didn't have something to keep her hands busy she was going to lose it. "Don't let go of that fucking pillow," I ordered, not able to hide the amusement in my voice. She grinned, biting her lip again as she nodded, gripping onto it tightly as I went back to playing with her breasts. I couldn't get enough of them, they fit so perfectly into my hands, not too large and definitely not too small, and I loved feeling her hard, pink nipples on my tongue and the sounds it made escape from her. The throbbing in my pants was becoming more painful by the second, but I didn't want to hurt her, so I needed to try and… prepare her as much as possible.

And I didn't want to rush this, I never wanted to take my hands off of her again.

My mouth moved back up to hers, kissing her gently as my right hand moved down her body, my left arm propping me up on my elbow as I hovered above her. She didn't seem to appreciate the speed of my kisses though, and leaned into me as she bit onto my lip.

She was the one that gasped though, as I slid a finger in between her folds, stroking slowly down the length of her center. She was so fucking wet, and whimpered against my lips as I slowly started to circle around her clit. I could feel her heart pounding against her chest as my lips traveled over it. The sight of her shaky breathing, her eyes closed tightly as she tried to concentrate only on the pleasure I was giving her, made it impossible to keep my slow pace. My mouth quickly moved back down her body as I slid down, spreading her legs in front of me and opening her with my fingers. I growled at the fucking beauty in front of me, before leaning in and stroking her clit with my tongue before rolling around it.

"Fuck!" She gasped, flinching from the sudden sensation before letting out a soft, slightly frustrated moan when I kept her from pulling away. "E-Edward, that feel so good," she whimpered.

"Don't let go of that pillow," I chastised her lightly, seeing that her hands had moved again. She moaned, gripping onto it again tightly as I started to trace her with my fingers again, keeping her thoroughly distracted with my tongue. She tasted fucking amazing, and I had to hold her down with a firm hand on her stomach to keep her from wriggling away from me. It was in Bella's nature not to be able to stay still very long, but she was going crazy right now.

I fucking loved it.

Slowly, I started to ease one of my fingers inside of her, biting back my groan when I felt how ridiculously tight she was, clenching around my finger. Bella had an unending line of expletives that were just turning me on even more as I slowly moved my finger in an out of her, adding a second once she had gotten a little more adapted to the intrusion. She arched her back, and I sped up my movements, rolling her over my tongue as I looked up her body, watching her proudly. She looked fucking close, and I curled my fingers inside of her, and gently grazed her clit with my teeth.

"Fuck! Oh fuck, Edward, wait, I-"

No, I wasn't fucking stopping. I knew she didn't really want me to, and I grinned brightly when she clenched around me tightly, her entire body trembling from her release as she whimpered and tried to pull away. I kept her gently in place though, dragging out the length of her release on my tongue and fingers until she wasn't so sensitive. There were tears running her down her cheeks, and I wiped my mouth on the back of my arm before crawling back over her, kissing her forehead gently and waiting until she looked up at me.

"Bella, why did you want me to stop?" I asked gently, though I'm pretty sure I already knew the answer. She bit her lip, and was still trying to catch her breath. "Was that… your first orgasm?"

She looked mortified, her face as red as a tomato, but nodded, not breaking eye contact with me. I knew she hadn't been with anyone besides… but I had always assumed she had at least gotten herself off. I couldn't help my grin, and that seemed to relax her slightly.

I was her first, and that definitely was not going to be her last.

Very slowly, I slid off the bed, kicking off my boxes before crawling over to her again. He eyes were wide, her teeth digging into her bottom lip again as she checked me out. There was a hint of nervousness in her expression again as I leaned over her, and trailed my fingers down the side of her face affectionately.

"We still don't have to do this," I assured her. "It's okay if you want to stop baby."

"No," she whispered quickly, grinning up at me shyly. "I just wasn't expecting it to be so… big."

I grinned, appreciating the compliment. I leaned in, kissing below her ear again. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle with you," I teased, leaning onto one arm as I kissed her, and opening up the wrapper I had tossed on the bed before sliding on the condom.

Hopefully I wouldn't have to use one of these things again. I was clean, and I wanted to feel her on me, not the fucking latex. Which was something I _never_ did. I'd been extra vigilant after Tanya, but things with Bella were so, _so_ different. I wanted to have the time to have a proper discussion about that though, and now wasn't the best time. She still felt amazing though, as I slid my head up and down between her folds, spreading her wetness and circling her clit, making her squirm. I didn't stop her this time as her hands let go of the pillow, sliding up my arms and gripping onto my shoulders as I slowly started to ease my length inside of her.

_"Fuck,"_ I hissed, resting my forehead against hers as I started to push inside of her. She was so tight…

Too tight. Her breathing was starting to become panicked, her eyes were clenched shut, and she was gripping onto my shoulders so tightly.

I almost pulled out again right then, but… she seemed to really want to do this, so I tried to calm her a bit first before backing off.

"Shh, baby, relax," I said quietly, kissing her cheek softly. "Look at me Bella."

She opened her eyes after a few seconds, and the guilt in her eyes was almost as painful as the fear in them. I was sweating in my restraint, but I managed to stay still. I kissed her lips softly before giving her a gentle smile.

"It's okay, it's just you and me," I told her, running my thumb along her cheek. She nodded, watching me with those big brown eyes. I did feel her starting to relax. "I love you."

"I love you too," she said back immediately, and I smiled again, kissing her. I kissed her slowly, feeling her body slowly starting to relax under mine as I deepened the kiss. I slid into her a bit more before pulling back and out pushing in again, my lips moving from hers, across her jaw and down her neck as I pushed again. My muscles were trembling in my restraint, but at the same time I savoured the slow movement, the feeling of being so completely wrapped in her. Hot, wet, soft and tight. No words could accurately describe it. Nothing could compare to this; I'd never felt anything so powerful before. Her hands tightened on my shoulders again, but this time as a soft moan escaped her lips. I grinned against her neck.

"You feel so fucking good baby," I growled, making her moan louder. Her thighs tightened against me. "Are you okay?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

Her body did not feel fucking tense in the slightest as she started to move with me, meeting my thrusts as they became a bit more powerful, her body trying to claim the same closeness and friction that mine wanted.

"Oh, god, _yes_," she moaned quietly, moving her hips around me, seemingly beyond any more complicated words. The fucking sounds she was making, not hiding her pleasure from me, drove me fucking crazy. Her moans were genuine, and there was something about them that seemed so… innocent. None of those faked porn-star moans that for some reason women thought sounded hot. No, the quiet whimpers that escaped Bella's lips, accompanied by my name, was the hottest fucking sound in the world. Her movements were as eager as mine when I started to move into her more quickly, harder, deeper. Her moans and my grunts filled the apartment as our bodies danced together with perfect synchronization, her hips meeting my thrusts and her nails leaving welts down my back. She tried to take over a couple times, but she seemed to love it when I'd push her and hold her down, thrusting into her harder. I pushed right through her second orgasm, leaning back on my knees and guiding her hips towards me with a hand on her hips, my other hand sliding down her arched body and slipping my thumb over her swollen clit. Her moan came out closer to a cry, and while feeling her clench around me once more I released quickly, burying my full length deep inside her while her muscles gripped onto me tightly.

I dropped back down on her, not even pulling out as I breathed heavily against her neck. She was holding onto me tightly, trembling almost violently underneath me. She whimpered as I pulled out of her, rolling her onto her side towards me so I could wrap her in my arms, holding her tightly against my chest.

"Fuck, Bella, I love you so much," I whispered into her hair.

"I love you too," she whispered back happily, and I looked down to see the brightest fucking smile I had even seen on her face. I couldn't stop my face from mirroring hers, and I kissed her quickly. When I leaned back, she wiped the sheen of sweat off of her forehead with the back of her shaking arm, grinning with a light laugh. We just stayed there like that, watching each other in blissful silence for a few minutes. It would have been impossible to look away from her, but I had no desire to try.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. She hadn't seemed in pain, but the possibility that I might have been too rough, hurt her in some way, almost launched me into a spiral of panic.

She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing beautifully and she gave me a shy nod. "That was… _Amazing_ Edward," she whispered. "I just-" She closed her mouth quickly and looked away, her flush spreading all the way down her neck and onto her breasts.

"Just what?" I asked, tracing the flush on her cheek with the pad of my thumb. I felt much calmer watching her glowing smile.

"I just feel kind of… sticky," she giggled, and brushed her hair away from her damp face. I laughed in relief, and covered her face in kisses before getting up. She wasn't the only one that felt… sticky.

I pulled her up, carrying her over to the washroom in my arms while she kissed me, and set us both down in the shower after tossing the condom. She squealed when the cold water hit her first, cringing with a big smile on her face, but I quickly switched places with her, protecting her from the cold water until it warmed up quickly and we both got washed up. I inspected her body wash carefully.

"What's wrong?"

"I just always figured your soap was strawberry scented, because you always smell like them, but this is cranberry?" I grinned, feeling kind of silly. She laughed.

"My moisturizing cream is strawberry scented," she explained, taking the bottle away and kissing me. She turned to rinse off, and I slid my hands down her back, admiring her intricate tattoo. I traced over one of the larger, raised scars that I couldn't actually see, and when she froze, I leaned down and kissed it gently while holding her firmly in my grip.

"What happened?" I asked gently, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"It was from when he threw me out of the car. There were a lot of large, sharp rocks apparently," she said quickly, in a detached-sounding voice, standing very still and not looking at me as she spoke.

"Is that why you got the tattoos?" I asked, turning her around so that I could see her face. She watched my face closely for a minute, and I could see a lot of anger hidden in her eyes.

"I hated having his marks on me, so I made them my own," she said in a firm voice. Fuck, the strength of this small woman never ceased to amaze me.

"Well, I think your tattoos are fucking beautiful," I told her seriously, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her fiercely. She relaxed again in my arms.

"Thank you," she whispered against my lips. We stepped out of the shower, toweling ourselves off and having trouble looking away from each other in the process. When we walked out she headed for her dresser, but I picked her up quickly and dropped her onto the bed, sliding up next to her and holding her against me as I wrapped her in my arms. I needed to feel _her_, there was no fucking way I was letting her put clothes on.

"When did you have this done?" I asked, sliding my hand over her right hip, my thumb grazing over the design and making her shiver.

"Uhm, the first session was about a week after the uh… night in the alley," she said, making me flinch. "I had had the appointment for a while actually, but my guy has a pretty busy schedule. It took him one session to do the extra feathers, and then two for the nebula. It's not done yet, he's bringing it down and wrapping it into my constellation," she said, her voice getting a bit excited.

"That's going to look fucking awesome," I said, getting a little lost in the image of it in my mind. Fuck me if I didn't think her ink was sexy as hell.

"I hope so, I've put too much effort into these designs for them to get fucked up now," she said with a laugh. She tried to cover a yawn, and I rolled onto my back gently, pulling her into my side. She rested her head on my chest, snuggling closer to me and hooking one of her knees over my leg.

"You drew them? I didn't know you liked to draw."

"I don't really, I'm actually horrible at it, but I wasn't going to put something that someone else designed on me. It felt… weird, I guess. Rory cleans my ideas up and he puts his own little flare into it, but keeps to my basic designs."

I guessed that was the name of the tattoo artist. I'd like to meet her, she was obviously really good.

"Maybe you could design one for me sometime?" I asked with a smile. She propped herself up on my chest, grinning down at me.

"You want a tattoo?" She asked, a little disbelieving.

"I've thought about it," I said with a shrug. I had no idea what I would want though.

She smiled, leaning down and giving me a gentle kiss before resting her head on my chest again.

"I think you'd look fucking hot with a tattoo, as long as you don't get something like a butterfly or a tramp stamp," she said, and I could practically hear her biting her lip as I burst out laughing, holding her more tightly. We were both quiet after that, but it was a perfect quietness. I shifted us to move under the blankets after a little bit, feeling the goose bumps on the backs of her arms, but she curled back up against me quickly. I felt so content, so complete being here next to her like this. My mind fogged with the intense joy that filled me, and I drifted off to sleep quickly with her wrapped in my arms.

. . . . . . . . . .

**So yeah, that happened. And now you also know why Bella has her tattoos! (For those that haven't read her story.)**

**And she finally met the parents. What's Carlisle's deal? There's a link to the picture of The Car on my profile.**

**Comments? Let me know what you think!**

**PS: Greensleeves always makes me think of the opening menu to FFX. Just thought I'd throw that out there.**  
**And I've spilled lemonade all over the next few chapters. Just a heads up.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews and beautiful words!**

**I wasn't sure about a song for this chapter, so I'm just going to give you an awesome song that's stuck in my head right now;****Heatwave by The Julian Taylor Band****. Go listen to it. I dare you.**

**Stephanie Meyer owns everything Twilight, I don't think she'd approve of what I've done to her characters. There's all sort of stuff that kids shouldn't be reading.**

. . . . . . . . . .

I moaned, not wanting to let go of the incredible dream I was having. I swear I was still sleeping, I could still feel her soft hands gently trailing down my stomach, across my hip bones, and wrapping around my-

My eyes shot open, staring at the large lump underneath the blankets, and flipping them over to see Bella lying in between my legs, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as she slowly slid her hand up and down my hard shaft. I groaned when her fingers went up to my tip, doing this crazy fucking twisting thing around my head with her gentle touch. I moaned, my head dropping back onto the pillow.

"Bella, what are you doing?" I choked out, not able to actually bring myself to stop her as her magical fucking hands tortured me.

"Just saying good morning," she whispered sweetly, tightening her grip on me. "Am I doing this right?" She asked a little too innocently.

"Fuck, I don't know what the hell you're doing, but please don't stop," I begged. She was doing this voluntarily, I wasn't going to feel guilty, I just wanted to fucking savour it. Besides, I'm still not sure that I was actually awake right now.

Her hands were more curious than anything as they moved around me, trying to figure out what she wanted to do maybe as she explored my cock. She rubbed me up and down with both of her hands, twisted her fingers around my tip while she pumped me, cupped and fondled my balls, and I pulled in a sharp, surprised breath when I felt her hot tongue roll around my tip. "Oh fuck, Bella, you don't have to-" I shut my mouth with a snap as she wrapped hers around me, rolling her tongue around me as she continued to pump me. My hands went down to her hair, and she slapped them away playfully.

"Hands on the pillow, soldier," she said teasingly, making me growl. It was fucking hot though, and I gripped into my hair instead as she pulled me deeper into her mouth, sucking on me tightly while she cupped my balls firmly.

It didn't take her long at all to work me up to the edge of my release. "Fuck, I'm really close," I warned her in a strained voice, but she made no move to pull away from me. I tried to warn her again then-

"_Fuck!"_ My body jerked when her teeth just barely grazed over my head, and I didn't have any time to warn her again before I came hard in her mouth. She coughed slightly around me, pulling away, and my panic warred with the high of my release.

"Fuck, baby, I'm sorry I-"

I stopped, looking up at her. She was sitting up on her knees, smiling down at me nervously as she wiped the back of her hand over her mouth.

Did she fucking swallow?

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "What that okay?"

"Are you kidding me? Where the fuck did you learn how to do that?" I asked, a little suspiciously.

"Do what?" she asked, biting her lip nervously. Fuck, she had no fucking idea, did she?

How the fuck did I get so lucky?

"Doesn't matter," I growled, lunging forward and making her squeal as I pulled her over and pinned her underneath me before I kissed her. "My turn," I said in a low, excited voice, making her gasp as my fingers quickly slid through her wet folds.

Fuck.

I stole her gasping breath with my lips as I circled her clit with my thumb, sliding a finger inside of her. I made sure to be gentle, just in case she was sore from last night. She was still so fucking tight, and I worked her for a couple minutes before sliding in a second finger, curling them up inside of her, hitting that spot that made her tremble and moan while I stimulated her clit. I wanted to taste her again, but it was too engrossing, watching her face. I held both of her wrists in one of my hands to keep her still, kissing her cheeks, her jaw, her neck, nibbling on her ear as she moaned underneath me, and cried out my name with a long string of fucks as she came. I couldn't imagine myself ever tiring of doing that to her. She watched me, her eyes going wide, her face flaming red as I brought my two fingers up to my mouth and licked her juices off of them.

"You taste fucking delicious," I purred, and she bit onto her lip.

Unfortunately Zeus would not permit us to stay in her bed all day. I offered to take him up to the roof so Bella could jump in the shower and get dressed, and when I got back I jumped in after her and came out to her cooking us breakfast.

Lunch would have been more appropriate of a term actually, it was almost one in the afternoon. I was still pulling on a t-shirt as I walked over to her, sliding my hands over the dark grey denim on her hips, and fiddling with the hem of her black tank top. Her wet hair was in a thick French braid that hung over her shoulder, making it just too easy to lean in and brush my lips against the back of her neck. She shuddered, a wanting sigh escaping her lips. She melted into my arms as my lips trailed across the spot, grinning when I realized I had found her weak spot. My hands slid firmly up her stomach, palming her breasts and her spatula fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Fuck, Edward!" She hissed, pushing me away with a frustrated, and completely aroused fire in her eyes. I grinned at her, chuckling as I picked the spatula up and handed it to her before going over to the fridge and pouring us each a glass of juice. She set the plate of perfectly burnt sausages on the island with a bowl of cut up fruit, and started pouring pancake batter onto the skillet.

Every moment with this woman was amazing.

She sat down next to me to eat, and her eyes seemed to flicker over to me as much as mine did to hers. I couldn't stop staring at her.

So it didn't take me long to notice that she seemed a bit on edge. No, actually, a bit was putting it mildly. She seemed really tense, nervous almost. She looked like she was trying to say something, but couldn't.

A tight pit formed in my stomach.

"What's wrong?" I asked hesitantly, turning on my stool to face her completely. She didn't try to brush it off, she didn't play mind games like that. She took in a shaky breath, and set down her fork. She didn't look at me.

"I found some information on someone a while back. Someone you know. I… I've wanted to tell you before, but I didn't know if it was something you'd want to hear, or if it was even my place to say anything. Then I thought it would be best to just let it go, but it makes me feel like shit keeping it from you. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." I don't think she actually meant to say that last part out loud, because I knew she was going to tell me if she'd brought it up, but I answered her anyways because it was obvious that she was struggling.

"You could just tell me, and we'll see where it goes from there," I said cautiously.

"I have to, I just hate being the one to hurt you," she said, a tear escaping her eye. "I'm just really sorry that I waited so long to tell you. Please believe that."

"I do," I said gently. If she was this upset over it though, I wasn't really sure I wanted to know.

She was quiet for a long minute. "You know how I did a background check on your manager?"

"Yes," I said cautiously. If this was just Tyler screwing up though, that wasn't too big of a deal. Our contract was almost over, and I had no intention of renewing it. He really was an ass, and after finding out that he was cheating on his wife, well, I just lost whatever respect I had left for him. Although it was going make the tour in January difficult. I was certain Bella would help me with my schedule if I asked her to though.

"Well, I did two. One before the first time I went to LA with you, and a more… in-depth one a while afterwards."

"And what does in-depth consist of?" I asked curiously.

"Breaking into his e-mail, credit card and phone records," she answered easily.

"And what did you find?"

She closed her eyes tightly. "That he had been sleeping with Tanya. The dates matched when you two had still been together and after you broke up. That he took her for the abortion, and that it was his child."

I stared at her incredulously. There was no way that could be true, it just… Tyler was an asshole, but this?

"I'm sorry."

"I need to see it," I said in a voice that I didn't even recognize. She got up without a word, and brought her grey laptop over to the kitchen counter. I didn't see her use this one often, even though I'm pretty sure it was brand new.

She opened up a folder, and slid it in front of me.

I started clicking through the files, screenshots of e-mails, text messages. Phone records. Hotel transactions that matched dates of messages.

It was all right fucking there.

I was so fucking livid that I could barely breathe. I didn't think it would be possible for me to hate her more than I already had, but I'd been really fucking wrong apparently.

"When did you find this out?"

"Two days before we started dating," she said quietly, staring at her hands in her lap.

"You knew this, all this time, and you never said anything?"

"Yes."

"How could you have kept this from me?"

"I didn't think it was my place to say anything. I didn't know if you'd just be happier _not_ knowing. The timing never felt right. Every time I tried other shit got in the way. I have a million useless excuses that I hate giving you, but I really, really didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't change the fact that you've been fucking keeping this from me!" I shouted, throwing her laptop. It shattered against the cupboard under her sink, the pieces scattering across her kitchen floor, but she didn't even flinch. "What? _Now_ you can't look at me?" I hissed.

She turned quickly, meeting my eyes, and my heart just fucking broke.

She was crying, and it didn't even take a second to see that she had meant every single word. She hadn't wanted to keep this from me, she could have just forgotten about it, but she'd felt too guilty. She had already been beating herself up about this.

And I just fucking screamed at her.

And smashed her fucking laptop.

Fuck.

"Fuck," I repeated aloud, though quietly. She must have seen my mental path change, because she reached for my hand, but quickly stopped herself, and looked down at her hands in her lap again, still silently crying.

She should have punched me, or yelled at me, or pushed me away, but when I pulled her into my arms, right off her fucking chair, she just let me.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's okay, I don't blame you," she said quietly. "But I'm so sor-"

"Shh. It's okay. Just… thank you for telling me."

"You have a really shitty manager," she said with a sniffle. I actually fucking laughed.

"Tell me about it. Thank God his contract is up." I paused, and took a deep breath. "It's probably a good thing you didn't tell me sooner, it would have been a pain in the ass to try and get out of that contract."

"What are you going to do?"

I thought about that for a moment, feeling myself get calmer by the second as I held her. It helped me think rationally, touching her, something that I knew would be impossible right now if I didn't have her next to me.

"Nothing. There's nothing to do. We'll part ways, and I won't work with him again." I sighed. "I just can't believe he would do something like that to me. And all the times he joked about it… fuck, he was just rubbing it in my fucking face," I realized. I felt like an idiot. Bella's arms wrapped around me though, and she held me tightly, her soothing hands moving through my hair.

"I could kill her for what she did to you. Both of them," she said angrily, and in a completely serious voice.

"Honestly… just the thought of her name used to make me want to kill someone, but since I've met you I've barely even thought about her. What we had was nothing to me. I just feel like an idiot."

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're an idiot. I think you just have bad taste in employees," she said lightly, making me laugh again.

"What am I supposed to do? He has all of my scheduling for the tour in January, and I don't think I'm going to be able to talk to him rationally, or without yelling at him. This is going to be a fucking nightmare."

"I think I can help with that," she said with a smile.

It was an interesting morning to say the least. After cleaning up the shattered laptop that I told her I'd quickly replace, (she told me not to bother, that she had gotten that computer just on the possibility that I might break it, but I was going to anyways,) she let me watch her work as she broke into his company's network to get into his computer system, got every single document I wanted or needed, and erased any personal files Tyler had that I didn't want him to from his computers. The last thing I wanted him to have were my credit card numbers and passwords.

She'd even set up for me to leave a message on his computer, that would open up as soon as he tried to open up his file on me. I kept it short and sweet.

**You're fired. Say hi to the ex for me.**

. . . . . . . . . .

"You know, my mom adores you, she's been sending me texts every day for the last week trying to find out when I'm bringing you over again."

Bella was curled up on my lap, typing away on her laptop doing some sort of online course about encryptions or something. She chewed on her lip uncomfortably, her eyes flickering over to my face propped up on her shoulder a couple of times before she spoke. "Your mom was great Edward, she's an amazing woman, but I'm really not comfortable imposing on your father."

I froze, realizing she _had_ noticed his weird behavior on Christmas. I wasn't going to lie to her, but I _had_ hoped it had gone unnoticed. "I really don't know what his fucking problem is, but I'm sorry about that. You really shouldn't worry about him though, let him be a prick if he wants to, he can be by himself. My mom doesn't put up with that sort of behaviour, and she loves you." She tried to mirror my grin, but it looked forced. "Talk to me," I coaxed, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to me.

"I wasn't very… nice to him. When he fixed my shoulder. No, actually, I was a complete bitch, and he probably thinks I'm crazy." Her tone was completely serious, deadpanned, and I covered my chuckle with a cough.

"What happened exactly?" The thought of her yelling at my dad way pretty entertaining.

"Well, I was pissed that Alice had tricked me into coming over and cornered me. I knew my arm was fucked, but I was going to get it set soon anyways when my guy got back. She was crying and shit though, and they wouldn't let me leave. She guilted me into it and then they wanted me to take off of shirt for it and… _fuck_." She sighed irritably, shaking. She was livid just talking about it, and I was a little scared for where this story would lead. "Well, I wasn't going to do that, so I just kind of… ripped the sleeve off of my shirt. I told him to be quick, and as soon as he finished I left, only telling Alice that what she did wasn't right. I knew I was a being a bitch, I should have thanked him, but I was too fucking angry." She closed her eyes, rubbing the palms of her hands over them. "There's no way your father wants his only son to be with some crazy bitch that can't even thank someone for saving their fucking arm. I'm surprised he even let me walk into your house."

I pulled her hands away from her face gently. "My dad talked about you at the wedding, before we started dating," I told her with a smile, catching her attention. "He felt guilty that you thought you owed him for fixing your arm. He was worried, because it was obvious that there were some issues there," I told her teasingly, making the corner of her mouth twitch up. "But, the most direct thing he said about you was, _'That woman is tuff-as-nails, she didn't shed a single tear.'_ He thought you were remarkably strong, and really respected that."

She gave me a sad smile. "That was very sweet of him, but it doesn't change the fact that he doesn't approve. I don't see the need to rub it in his face. But maybe we could see her on a Thursday? For lunch during the day or something?"

I smiled brightly. "That sounds perfect, actually." Even though I didn't want to share our Thursdays, I knew it would probably be the last chance I'd have to get the two of them together for a while…

That realization put a pit in my stomach. Two weeks, then I would be leaving for the tour. Two weeks without seeing my Bella, or touching her… I knew we'd be fine, I had no doubt about that, but the notion was still physically painful for me to think about. My hold on her tightened, and she shuffled into my lap with an adorable smile to get closer to me. I kissed her urgently, using the feeling of her next to me now to block out the fear of not having her later. Her fingers slid down my throat, and she supported herself comfortably against my shoulders as she straddled my lap. Her lips didn't break away from mine once as her hands slid down my chest, and took the hem of my t-shirt before pulling it over my shoulders with an excited grin. I automatically reached for her shirt, but stopped, and dropped my hands into my lap. Fuck.

"What's wrong?" She asked, pulling off her shirt herself and tossing it onto the floor. I shut my eyes, forcing myself to restrain… myself, when I saw that dark blue cotton bra. I fucking loved that colour on her.

"I'm, uh… out of condoms," I said, chastising myself for not stopping at the store before I came over last night. I still hadn't been able to bring myself to have that conversation with her yet, I was too afraid of making her uncomfortable.

"Oh," she said, settling down against my legs comfortably. It was a fucking awesome sight, her sitting on top of me in nothing but those dark jeans and that fucking blue bra. "I… don't have any diseases or anything like that," she said a little shyly.

"I don't either," I told her quickly.

"I figured, I knew you would have told me if you did before," she said with a trusting smile. My hands slid up to her waist, relaxing as I felt her soft skin.

"Are you… on the pill?" I realized after that question came out, I really wouldn't have minded getting Bella pregnant. I already knew I wanted to stay with her for the rest of my life, the past week of intense, mind-blowing sex had just been fucking ice cream on my brownie.

She watched me for a long minute, the fear and trepidation in her eyes making me hold her tighter. She sighed softly, looking resigned as she closed her eyes. "No, but… I can't have children."

It took a minute for me to absorb those words. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not able to get pregnant," she said quietly, and ran her thumb over the covered scar on her hip. "The doctor that did my surgery, when he was rebuilding my pelvis, well… he fucked up. They told me later that the measurement of one of the pins he used was wrong, and he didn't fucking see it, and it ended up doing a lot of damage. It all happened while I was still in that coma, a really bad infection set in and they told me that the fever almost killed me before they went in and had to do another surgery. Long story short, there are eggs in the basket, but they're too damaged to grow into anything." She watched me for a long moment, but I wasn't sure what to say. The fact that I couldn't have a child with her… I wasn't expecting that to hurt so much. But what was worse was my anger. He just kept taking from her. "I'm sorry Edward," she said, the tears streaming down her face now, hitting me right in the gut like a bat. "I know I should have told you sooner, I meant to, I… it was selfish, but I just wasn't ready to lose you yet." She tried to pull away from me, but my arms wound around her waist like a vice, pulling her against me and holding her there tightly.

"No, Bella. Baby, this doesn't change how I feel about you at all," I told her, lifting a hand up to swipe away her tears. Her wide, chocolate eyes looked back up at me disbelievingly. "It's okay. I know how hard something like that must have been for you to talk about. I get that. I'm still not leaving you Bella, _ever_. And I'm going to keep telling you that until you get it through that pretty head of yours." She gave me a small, hesitant smile, sniffling slightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." She leaned against me gently, watching my face closely. "And I know we really haven't been together very long but… are you sure you're comfortable letting this go further, even knowing we can't have… that?"

"There's no one else in the world for me Bella, there's only you, and it's going to stay that way." I grinned again, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Besides, when we want kids we could always adopt. But Zeus is a big enough handful as it is." His ears pricked up at the sound of his name, but he looked too tired to lift his head to investigate. That dog went comatose when the fireplace was on.

He was always hogging that rug. I really wanted to fuck Bella on that rug in front of the fire, that would be romantic as hell.

She let out a small laugh, leaning in and kissing me, her hands hot against my chest. I slid my hands up her back, and felt her smile against my lips as I easily unclasped her bra with two fingers, then pulled it off of her.

"That was permission, right?" I asked teasingly between kisses.

"Fuck yes it was," she purred, her hands quickly pulling off her belt. I unsnapped her button, and she stood up to slide off her jeans as I kicked off mine, and pulled her back down into my lap. She stopped herself from colliding into me with her hands against my chest, grinning before she kissed me again, settling herself on my lap. My fingers quickly dipped into her folds, rubbing around her clit while I slid a finger inside of her. A soft, muffled moan escaped her mouth as she gripped onto my shoulder, and reached down to rub her hand along my hardness that was pressing up against the inside of her thigh and whimpered. "Please Edward," she pleaded, rubbing herself up against me while she tried to shift around my lap, my fingers still inside of her, and whined in frustration, making me smile. I loved seeing her get all flustered like this.

"Please what?" I asked in a taunting voice, my hand still tightly holding her hip down so she couldn't move away from my fingers.

She opened her smouldering eyes, biting her lip as she leaned into me, rubbing her breasts against my chest as her fingers slid into my hair. "Stop teasing me and fuck me," she whispered in a low voice, reaching down and pinching my nipple.

"_Fuck_," I growled, lifting her up and watching her grinning lips as I lowered her down on me.

"Oh god," she said, sinking deeper onto me and digging her fingertips into my shoulders. There was just her, and it was the mostfuckingamazing feeling in the world. She felt so fucking good, and hot, and wet. She pushed herself up on her knees, adjusting her body slightly, before quickly lowering herself onto me with another moan. I held onto her hips, but I wasn't guiding her. Bella wanted to be in charge right now, and I was happy to fucking let her. It freed up my hands to touch her everywhere while she rocked against my body, swerving her hips around mine when I was deeply inside of her. It was the sexiest fucking thing I'd ever seen. She had tried to hold out for me I think, but I didn't let her. She whimpered when I started rubbing her clit as I took one of her hard nipples into my mouth, speeding up her movements, and it took no time at all to push her over the edge of her release.

I wasn't done with her though.

I wasn't afraid of hurting her anymore, because she made it obvious that she loved _everything_ I did to her, so I didn't pause in lifting her up, wrapping her legs around my waist as I turned us so she was leaning against the back of the couch, straddling my knees before I pulled out of her and thrust into her quickly. Her moans overpowered the sound of mine as I kept her pinned, pounding into her while bracing my arms against the back of the couch under her arms. Her small hands were gripping onto my biceps while she held onto me tightly with her thighs, and by the time I finished her whole fucking body was trembling underneath mine while she weakly clung to me with a pleased, lazy grin. She was asleep in minutes, and I just curled up with her there on the couch, pulling her throw blanket over us and falling asleep with her wrapped tightly in my arms.

. . . . . . . . . .

It was a bit of a strange morning I guess. Bella wanted to go to the gym, and I did too, but now that it had become a known spot of mine we couldn't drive over together. I couldn't even approach her when I was inside, and it just felt wrong to be so close to her and not touching her.

And I had so little time left to touch her.

I couldn't stop myself from watching her though. She spent the entire morning beating the shit out of that black sand bag with reckless abandon. No one went anywhere near her, giving her terrified looks with her blaring headphones. She should have passed out from the effort of that alone, but when I left to shower and came back out she was on a bike, the seat for it tossed on the floor while she leaned forward on the handle bars, sweat pouring off of her face while she threatened to break the pedals off the bike. This was going overboard, even for her. I hated that I couldn't just walk up to her as tell her to stop, and quickly took out my phone.

**Seriously B, you need to stop now. You're going to hurt yourself. Let's go home.**

She looked surprised when her phone went off, like she had forgotten where she was. Very unlike her. She stepped off of the bike slowly, leaning against it as she texted me back.

**_Sorry, I just lost track of time. I have to check something in the office before I go. Meet you back home in an hour?_**

I didn't have keys to her apartment. You needed five, not counting the one for the elevator which I did have, but it was because I didn't want them. The idea of losing that set of keys made me sick.

**_Okay, I'm going to pick us up some burgers, sound good?_**

**_Yessss, extra pickles please :)_**

I laughed, and gave her an inconspicuous nod before heading out.

When I did get back to the apartment with our late lunch, she seemed completely fine, smiling, chatting easily, cuddling up next to me.

But something still felt off. She kept trying to inconspicuously check her phone, Zeus seemed on edge…

And all of her computers were off. The one monitor that scrolled news articles all over the US for her key words and phrases she had built the system to look for was off for the first time. Maybe that's why she was checking her phone? She could have made a fancy new program on it or something, she had been spending a lot of time on her laptop lately, and I never understood what all that script on those black screens meant.

"Your mom has been texting me," she explained, finding me watching her as she picked up her vibrating phone and held it out to me.

**_Hello sweetie, how's your day going? My daughter had been telling me a lot about your classes, is there any chance you have room to squeeze in one old woman? It sounds like a lot of fun. We could go out to lunch afterwards!_**_**  
**_**_Love, Esme_**

I chuckled, handing the phone back to her and relaxing slightly. This didn't surprise me, I had warned Bella about giving my mom her phone number. She treated all of her phones like disposable ones though, I got texts from strange numbers with just the word "new" in them almost every other week, her way of letting me know she'd changed numbers again. She said she could handle my mother. Hah.

"Would it be… weird for you if I went out to lunch with her while you were gone?" She asked curiously, watching me closely.

"Not at all, I love that you two get along," I told her seriously, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"Are you sure? Because I-"

"I'm sure baby. I really don't mind, I like it."

She smiled at me, and sent my mother a text in return, saying she could sit through a class first to see if she's up for it. My mom was in great shape, and she was much tougher than she looked, but Bella seemed haunted by the possibility of my mother getting hurt on her watch.

. . . . . . . . . .

**This chapter always feels like a bit of filler to me, but it was necessary. Two big things; Tyler's douchebaggery and Bella's inability to have children. How are you feeling about those things, and Edward's reactions to both of them?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you Nicffwhisperer for the rec over at TLS! That was just too awesome and I love you for it ;)**

**Important song for the feels, yo. I won't say that again, sorry. But it is. **

**Winter of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi.**** There's a link on the profile if you haven't used the playlist :)**

. . . . . . . . . .

I collapsed on top of Bella, burying my face in her chest while I tried to gain better control of my breathing again, running my hands over her body.

I can't do this. No fucking way. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew something wasn't right. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but there was _something_ and I couldn't leave her.

Three weeks had been more than enough time to become addicted to her on a level that almost frightened me. It was just so easy though... being with her, touching her. And she seemed just as eager as I was. Like we were both making up for lost time. There was nothing shy or timid about my Bella anymore, there really hadn't been since that first night, on Christmas. And to think of going even a day without touching her... It was hard to breathe.

No fucking way.

My lips started moving over her breasts, and down her ribs, savouring the feeling of her soft, sweet skin under my lips, the way it broke out in goosebumps under my touch. She was always so responsive to my every touch, I loved watching her reactions, memorizing which spots would make her sigh, or gasp, moan, bite her lip, make her toes curl and arch her back... There was this one spot, just below her left hip bone, that would drive her crazy if I dragged my teeth lightly across it...

She caught my face gently in both of her hands and pulled me back up as I went to lift one of her legs over my shoulder, just wanting to lose myself in her. I didn't want to think of anything else. She caught my eyes, and trapped me in hers. I couldn't look away from her penetrating gaze, and just rested my chin on her stomach while I looked up at her, feeling like I was drowning.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She asked in a gentle voice, smoothing her thumbs over my cheeks affectionately.

"I can't leave. It's too long, I can't leave you for two weeks," I said, very much aware of how much of a girl I was being. Bella knew me though, there was no fucking point in hiding it from her. I _never_ felt the need to hide anything from her. It was a very liberating feeling to be honest.

"It's going to go by in the blink of an eye Edward, you're going to be so busy, it will be over before you even know it." I was a little hurt that she was dealing with this so well, would a couple fucking tears be too much to ask for? She seemed to read the thought in my eyes, and frowned. "I don't want you to go, of course I don't. I miss you when you don't come in the fucking shower with me," she said, her face flushing red in embarrassment. "But I think this will be healthy for us, normal couples can go a day without seeing each other, right? If we can't make it two weeks, what are we going to do when you start filming again?"

I hated that she was so fucking rational.

"And you're sure you don't want to come to the premiere? You could wear one of your wigs or something," I offered with a playful grin. She rolled her eyes, but looked a little uncomfortable. "What?"

"Edward, I have no problem with your career and what you do, I'm proud of you, but I have no desire to sit in a chair and watch you kiss another woman on a giant movie screen," she said seriously. I flinched slightly. I knew I'd never be able to do that, watch her kiss someone else without fucking killing them, and I should have thought about that sooner. "I'm sorry, I just thought I should be honest."

"No, it's okay. I'd feel the same way," I told her.

"Why did you turn down the sex scene in the next film?" She asked curiously.

"Because even then, the thought of touching another woman, someone who wasn't you, made me feel sick," I said honestly. It was the first time I'd said those words aloud. I had been trying to move my career into a different direction before I met Bella, people could take my acting more seriously when they weren't ogling my ass, but she was what pushed me off of the edge. The professional response was definitely more manly, but I never lied to her, and didn't regret it when she smiled brilliantly at me.

"You are too fucking sweet, you know that right?" I winked at her, making her laugh before I removed both of her hands from my face, kissing her palms, before sliding down and hiking her leg over my shoulder. "Edward-"

"I'm not fucking sleeping until I get on that plane, and neither are you if I have anything to say about it," I growled, plunging my tongue inside of her and making her gasp.

. . . . . . . . . .

I felt my heart crumble to pieces as Riley drove me away from her building. She couldn't see me off at the airport, and the image of her in my arms, kissing her against the door in her foyer while she was wearing her fucking sexy librarian get-up was burned into my mind. I was absolutely exhausted after the night/ morning we had had, but I had a feeling I wouldn't sleep until I was in her apartment again.

Our apartment. The only reason I still had mine was for appearances, I couldn't risk the media finding out I pretty much lived with her. I even had one of the giant drawers of her tallboy filled with my clothes, and a few suits hanging up on her rack. I hated my fucking apartment.

I looked over at the man sitting quietly next me, and bit back my scoff. He looked so predictable, and I bet my ninja could kick his ass easily. Just looking at him annoyed me.

Bella had wanted to send one of her guys with me, but I told her the producers and publicists had already taken of the security details for the trip. Our planes were booked. It just wasn't doable to bring along anyone else.

I wanted to start taking classes because I hated having people shadow me. I was strong, but I knew I had no real fighting skills. For some reason, it felt demeaning being done by anyone that wasn't Bella. Although she had been happy to encourage me to take the classes, saying they would even look good in my portfolio, she told me it was better for someone in my position to have someone else doing it. It would look bad if pictures of me punching someone in the face got out, but it would look completely reasonable if it was done by someone dressed to obviously do that specific job.

I was pretty much dragging my feet as I walked through security, and my eyes almost popped out of my head when I reached into my pocket to drop my phone in the bin, and I pulled out a black, lacy pair of Bella's underwear. I shoved it back into my pocket quickly, but the security guard saw it and gave me a knowing grin. I moved through the scanners as quickly as possible, leaving my bag with my shadow as I dashed into the bathroom. I pulled the lace back out, along with a small piece of paper that was tucked in there also.

**I love you baby, and I'm going to miss you so much. I don't know how I'll sleep without you next to me.****  
****Here's a souvenir, so you don't forget about me ;)****  
****-B**

I groaned, dragging my hand through my hair in frustration as I gripped the lace tightly in my other hand. Fuck. She was always surprising me with little things like that, I really never knew what to expect from her. After taking a deep breath, I tucked them back into my pocket with a grin, and went back out to board my plane. As soon as I got to my hotel room, I fell asleep fully clothed on the bed, clutching those fucking panties in my hand.

. . . . . . . . . .

Bella had been partially right, I was fucking busy. Up early every morning, eating the bland-tasting room service before going out to press releases, interviews, autograph signings and screenings every day, jumping on a plane, getting dropped off at another hotel, then repeating the same fucking thing again the next day. Sometimes twice a day. Jessica couldn't take the fucking hint, and no matter how much of an asshole I was to her she just kept fucking coming. It was making for some unpleasant news articles, what with news of the new Volturi film in the works it meant we were starring in two films back-to-back, and by the second week she had most of the country convinced we were in love.

What. The. Fuck.

I was stressed out enough as it was. I was living off of Bella's rare text messages. She was apparently swamped too, working the library, and taking care of the gym and the club while the others were away on their cruise. It really bothered me that she was completely alone in the city right now, except for Zeus that is. For two full fucking weeks. But between my Bella withdrawals, all of the awful food, not sleeping and Jessica Fucking Stanley, I just kind of snapped.

"So Edward, we've heard a lot of rumours about your relationship with Jessica Stanley over the past couple days. Has this tour helped make your relationship stronger, or is it hard travelling and spending so much time together?"

"First off, there is not a single thing going on between Jessica and I. We aren't even friends, really. I don't know where all of these rumours are coming from, but I can only guess," I said, unable to restrain the venom from leaking out through my voice. "I'm in a very committed relationship with a woman I love, but I'm not going to discuss that. We would like our private life to remain just that; private."

I felt sick afterwards, starting to freak out. I couldn't believe I had just talked about Bella on live television, what the fuck was wrong with me?

As soon as I got back into my hotel, I went to call her, but I remembered the bugs in my room the first time she had accompanied me to LA. When I asked what's-his-name if he was going to check, he looked at me like I was a fucking idiot.

Not safe.

I hated doing this over a text, but I didn't know what else to do.

**_Baby, I fucked up today and I don't know what to do._**

I didn't know what else to say, and just hit send. She didn't message me back for another hour.

**_Sorry, I was in a meeting. Are you talking about the interview? Because I don't think it was that big of a deal. It's not like you gave them my name or anything. Though now that you've confirmed you're seeing someone the press is probably going to get a little crazy. We should up your security._**

**_You already saw it?_**

**_Of course, I'm practically stalking you online while you're gone. There aren't enough pictures of you with your shirt off, and the ones there are don't do you justice._**

I laughed loudly, rolling onto my stomach with a smile.

**_God, I fucking miss you. Are you sure that this is okay? I wanted to call you but I was afraid my room would be bugged. I miss the sound of your voice._**

**_Stephan didn't scan your room?_** Uh oh, I could practically hear her punching something already.

**_I think he thinks I'm paranoid._**

**_Well I think he's a fucking idiot. I don't know where that company finds these people, they're worthless. I wish I could have sent you with one of my guys. You could easily kick Stephan's ass._**

**_You think so?_**

**_I know so ;)_**

She was sweet, and this was the closest to a real conversation I had had with her since I left. The memory of wrestling naked with her on her bed two weeks ago made me smile, even though I was certain she had let me win. I wasn't sure what to say to her, it still didn't feel right talking to her like this. I needed to hold her.

**I love you baby, I can't wait to touch you again. I feel empty without you next to me.**

**I love you too. My bed is too big without you in it. I've gotten used to your space-heater-like qualities. I miss you.**

**I miss you too.**

I frowned at my phone. This just wasn't enough. I was completely serious when I told her I felt empty without her. I couldn't smile fully, because I felt like I wasn't able to truly feel any sort of happiness when she wasn't there. I'd left my soul alone in New York on the other side of the planet.

I curled up in the too-big, too-cold bed of my room, but as usual sleep did not come easily.

. . . . . . . . . .

The last few days were exhausting, but better. Jessica seemed to get the fucking message, and I was a little relieved to see she was too pissed off at me to talk to me anymore. I did get a few hours of down time while we were in Italy, and spent it buying some souvenirs for the others. I couldn't really enjoy any of the sights, but it made me wonder if Bella had ever been to a place like this before. I think she would have liked it. The day of the last premiere finally rolled around, and having my favourite band come up and slap me on the shoulder, thanking me for the tickets, made my night so much better. They even came along to the after party, and I had a few drinks with them before they left. I snuck out as soon as I could, going back to my room to text Bella. I fell asleep before she could reply though, just so tired from the excitement, knowing that I would be back in the same state as her within the next twenty-four hours.

. . . . . . . . . .

I was bouncing in my chair like a kid through most of the flight that afternoon, pounding back a few drinks on the plane to calm my nerves. I'd gotten bumped onto an early flight, so I was getting back to her half a day early. I knew she'd probably be working, and that I wouldn't actually get to touch her, but I couldn't wait another second to see her. I signed a couple autographs outside of my building before running up to my room, having a proper shower, and getting dressed in one of my nicer suits before heading over to the club at nine.

It was still pretty early, and the only person from our group there was Rose, who ran up and gave me a hug as soon as I came in.

"Congratulations!" She shouted. "I hear you guys are doing amazing in the box office, how was the tour?"

"It was good, but it's better to be home," I said, looking around the room. She wasn't at her post, one of her giant lackeys, the bigger one with the long black hair and tanned skin, was standing in her usual spot.

"Did you get in early? I didn't think you were coming back until the morning," Rose said, grabbing my attention again.

"Er, yeah. Is B not working tonight?" The club always felt weird when she wasn't in it.

"Yeah, she's been cutting down her hours for a while now. That guy Jake there is her replacement," she said with a nod to the big guy.

"What? Why?" This was the first I heard of it, and was a little affronted to be honest.

"Well, her last guy ended up starting his own business, which is why she had to start training a new guy, otherwise she would have left months ago. He's pretty good."

"Hmm. Okay, well I'm going to go try and surprise her at home then," I said, giving Rose a peck on the cheek before leaving. I walked out and caught another cab.

. . .

The snow was horrible, practically a blizzard as I made my way across town to the apartment. Traffic was at a standstill, so I just paid the cabbie and decided to walk the last two blocks. I panicked slightly when I saw the crowd around her building, my heart racing out of control and I sprinted forward, thinking somehow Bella had been hurt in front of her building.

But Bella never even used the main entrance to her building. And when I became part of said crowd, I realized they were all looking up, and every one of them was silent. I followed their gazes expecting to see a jumper, but no one but Bella had access to her roof, and then I finally heard the eerie melody. A sound I could identify in my sleep.

Bella was playing her violin on her roof. I wonder if she had any idea that there were over what looked like fifty people, stopped on the sidewalk in a middle of a blizzard, just trying to listen to her artistry.

It took me a minute to identify the tune. I'd never heard her play classical music before, aside from some Christmas songs, but I knew it to be part of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It sounded like she was in autumn, and I quickly made my way to the garage so I could get up to her. I pulled out my key and jumped into the service elevator, taking it all the way to the roof.

I got there just as she transitioned into winter.

She didn't hear me over the sound of her music, and I stood very still as I watched her. Her hair was long and straight, a white knit cap on her head and thick snowflakes stuck to her hair. Wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans, and no gloves. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked freezing-cold, though she was obviously in another place completely as she played. She was lost to the entrancing music, hairs snapping on her bow from the force of her passion as she bent, spun and swayed with the melody, her long hair whipping around her in the wind.

I had referred to her as an angel many times, but seeing her now, she looked ethereal. My heart broke in my chest when I was able to see her face, her cheeks shimmering with tears under the dim lighting as she seemed to cry simultaneously through her instrument. I wanted desperately to run forward and pull her into my arms, but the sight of her had me pinned in place.

So I watched. And it was probably the most painful three minutes of my life.

When she did stop, she was facing me, but she hadn't yet opened her eyes. The silence was numbing as she tilted her head back slightly, and we both stood there listening to the distant sound of the crowd below on the streets applauding before they likely dispersed to find shelter from the storm.

She opened her eyes when I took a step forward, the snow crunching loudly under my foot. She gasped, and her expression shifted from surprise, to embarrassment, to utter joy in seconds before she flew forward, and I caught her tightly in my arms.

"You're home," she said, her voice sounding close to a sob.

"I'm home," I whispered back, holding her to me for dear life. I inhaled her scent, and it felt like the first full breath of air I'd had in weeks. Since I left her.

I could breathe again.

At first I thought I was shaking from my excitement, but as her ice-cold lips brushed against my neck, I realized _she_ was shivering. Badly. I quickly pulled her into my jacket before pulling her inside with me. We were silent until we got to the door, where I took her keys from her. Her hands were full, but they also looked painfully cold.

"This is a new key chain," I mused, still easily selecting the proper key shapes for the appropriate locks.

"That one's your set," she said easily as I waited for her to walk in ahead of me. My hand stiffened on the small of her back, and she must have felt it. She turned to face me, still clutching her violin, now with melting drops of snow covering her long, dark hair.

"Bella-"

"I know you said you didn't want them," she said quietly, trying to disguise the hurt in her voice, but I still saw it in her eyes. "But I still had the set made. Just in case you changed your mind. I just grabbed them by accident today." She looked down, then went to pull off her boots, but I stopped her by gently cupping her face in my hands, and tilting her to look back at me before I kissed her. I couldn't wait another second. It was near-impossible to end that kiss, but I just wanted to feel her in my arms, so I held her tightly against me, resting my chin on the top of her head.

"I missed you so god damn much," I said in a quiet, hoarse voice. She wrapped her arms around me tightly.

"I missed you too."

"How long were you outside?" She was still shaking. She was quiet for a moment before speaking into my shirt, but I could still hear her smile through her muffled voice.

"An entire year."

I barked out a laugh at that, and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Let's get you dried off, you're freezing," I said, kicking off my shoes and taking her violin from her. I dried it off and put it in her special case to regulate the moisture in the wood, and turned on her fireplace just as she made her way over to me. I was pretty sure it was a useless effort, and hoped that she hadn't been too attached to that specific violin. I quickly took her hands in mine to warm them up, but she grinned and pulled them away, before quickly dipping them under my shirt and placing them on my stomach.

I gasped, jumping back in shock to her freezing hands, and she laughed before sliding them around me, placing them on my back as she hugged my torso. I held her tightly, never wanting to let her go again.

There was no way I could survive four months of that.

"You know that it's not because I don't want them, right?" She stilled, and after a short hesitation she nodded against me but said nothing. My heart sank. "Bella, please tell me you know that? There's nowhere else in the world that I'd rather be, I practically live here already."

Her grip on me tightened for a moment, and she was stiff in my arms. "Then why?" She whispered.

Fuck, I thought she knew this, and the realization that she hadn't was stomach-churning..

"Oh, baby. Of course I want them, I just don't trust myself with them. If I lost those keys, if I ever put you in danger again, it would fucking kill me."

"What do you mean again?" she asked, pulling back and looking up at me in confusion. I wanted to knock myself out for making her look so fucking sad within minutes of finally having her again.

"The e-mail I sent to Aro-"

"Edward, that wasn't your fault. I told you that I don't blame you at all for that. It was my fault for making everyone keep you out of the loop. You had every right to want to protect your family. I was the one who over reacted to that, not you. I'll never forgive myself for attacking you like that." A tear rolled out of her eye and down her cheek, and this was all so messed up and different and out of nowhere and too fucking sudden. It was too much, I just wanted her to fucking smile. I could never hold anything against her, the love I had for this woman was fucked up beyond all reason, irrevocable and irreversible. I kissed her quick and hard, holding her tight until we were both desperate for air, and rested my forehead against hers, my eyes tightly shut.

"Fuck, Bella, I feel like…" It was hard to find the right words, and my lips were soft as I kissed her again. "I feel like I've fucked up in so many ways. I love you, I'm always going to fucking love you. There is nothing that you've ever done that I've held against you. Yeah, you were pretty hostile when I met you, and for a while after. But I was also a fucking pig, and am kind of glad you were the way you were, let alone blame you. There was a lot of stuff that we weren't able to communicate with each other about before. But we love each other now, that's what matters to me. Can't we just, you know… clean that slate?"

"You could really do that for me?" She asked doubtfully. I was just happy, but not really surprised, that she understood what I was rambling about. She knew me better than anyone though.

"Of course, could you do it for me?"

"I did that a long time ago," she said with a soft voice and a small smile.

"So did I," I grinned back at her, and leaned down to kiss her again. She shivered against me, and I worried about her getting sick from her damp hair. "How about a warm shower?" I whispered, still grinning. I swear it wasn't just because I wanted her naked and wet. But God, I really needed to touch her.

"Mmm, I think that sounds perfect," she purred, and squeaked when I quickly scooped her up in my arms. I realized then that it was oddly quiet in her apartment.

"Where's Zeus?"

"Emmett has him. He needed to go out of town tonight and wanted some company."

I set her down on her tiled bathroom floor, pulling off my shirt as she turned on the water before grabbing the hem of hers and pulling it over her head. She laughed against my lips as I kissed her again quickly, and we attacked each other's jeans in a rush to get them off. I finally had her naked and backed her into the shower seconds later, and she grabbed a towel on the way and hung it over that fucking bar that taunted me with dirty thoughts every fucking time I came in her damn shower.

Pun fucking intended.

I grinned against her neck, and finally said something, whispering against her throat under the warm water as I covered it in gentle kisses.

"That towel bar looks very… sturdy."

She laughed. "Yeah, the last one wasn't. I won't make that mistake again."

That stopped me. "Uh, what?"

"I broke my hand not long after moving in here, and I had this bag to cover my cast with, you know? And I hooked it onto the towel rack to keep it out of the water, but I kind of tripped, and ripped the bar right out of the wall. Not only did my cast get soaked but I ended up with a concussion."

I just kind of stared at her, and she grinned.

"This one's really strong though. I can even do pull-ups off of it!"

And that she could. She demonstrated, and I was hard in about a second.

Her innocence in some things was a huge turn on to me for some reason, she had no fucking idea what gutter she kept my mind stuck in.

"Baby?" I said in a bit of a strained voice after she did a second pull-up. I was trying not to fucking growl at her like a caveman.

"Huh?"

"Stop," I said gently, wrapping my hands around her hips. She turned easily in my hands and looked up at me.

So fucking beautiful.

"You're doing them wrong," I said with a grin. She tilted her head to the side slightly, in this fucking adorable, questioning motion. I lifted her up by her waist, easily supporting her weight, and she automatically grabbed onto the bar above and behind her.

"I can't-_fuck_," she hissed, clenching her eyes shut when she realized what I was doing, flicking my tongue over one of her pebbled nipples. The muscles of her stomach clenched under my fingers as I slowly traced down her ribs, grinning up at her.

"How long do you think you can hold that?" I asked, letting go of her and moving my hands down her fuckawesome body as she held herself up. She whimpered as I parted her with my fingers and teased her clit.

"I-I'm not sure," she stuttered, then whimpered I pushed two fingers inside of her. She was so fucking wet.

"Well, I won't keep you waiting then." I kissed her hard, then guided myself slowly inside of her with my hand.

Fuck, she felt so fucking good. I missed this so fucking much. Her thighs clamped down on my hips as she rocked against me, meeting my thrusts as I moved my hands all over her, memorizing every beautiful curve again. I pinned her against that wall with my body as my thrusts got harder, faster, and she was panting my name in my ear and I knew that I wanted this for the rest of my life. I'd known for a while. It didn't get better than this.

Which was why I had bought that ring when I was in Italy.

"Fuck, I'm going to lose my hold," she whimpered, I could feel she was close though.

"It's okay baby, I got you." I cupped the backs of her thighs with my hands and she let go of the bar and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and I trailed my tongue up her neck when she threw her head back against the wall and cried out as she clenched around me and came, spurring on my own release.

I held her there for a bit, just rocking against her slowly as we both came down in waves from our release, before gently setting her down and just holding her under the water as I kissed her.

. . .

After we got dried off and dressed, we curled up on her couch together in front of the fire. Neither of us bothered to turn on the TV, I had no interest in anything besides holding her. She was smiling up at me, her fingers playing lightly in the back of my wet hair.

"So how were things here? We haven't really talked much since I left," I said quietly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. Fuck, she smelt so good. I missed that too.

"It was quiet, but… busy." It was hard to think right now, with her legs across my lap, her fingers in my hair and that beautiful fucking smile. But I remembered that I had a question.

"I stopped by the club on my way here. I thought you'd be there."

She shook her head. "Jacob's got that place taken care of now, he'd good. I won't be working as more than a consultant there anymore."

I straightened up quickly in surprise, and she just as swiftly removed her hand from my hair, resting it in her lap. "You've never mentioned this before," I stated, once again feeling a little hurt.

"Edward, I've never talked to you about the work I do outside of the gym. I wasn't trying to hide this from you. It's been a while in the making."

I thought about her words, and found a lot of truth in them. If I asked her questions, she always answered me, but she never just talked about what her days at the library, her work at the club, or even the workings of her building that she owned were like.

It was actually something I had noticed a while ago. It just wasn't in Bella's nature to talk about herself. It wasn't like she was trying to hide anything, because like I said, if I asked her any sort of question she'd always answer me excitedly with the most detail that was possible. It was more like she didn't _know_ how to just talk about herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that," I told her truthfully. She smiled again and waved it off.

"No offense was taken," she said quietly.

"Is everything okay though? There isn't some other reason for this?" My concern was confirmed when I saw a flash of unease in her eyes. "What is it baby? Tell me."

She sighed. "Okay, but… I want you to know that I hadn't planned on working there in the long run anyway, alright? All of my jobs are temporary jobs; it's the only sort of employment I take." I nodded, but had a sinking feeling in my stomach. "The club's been getting too much publicity over the past few months-"

"You mean, since I moved here?"

She sighed, but didn't deny it. "I got by there not being noticed for a long time. No one ever really noticed me standing in the corner. I've put in too much time there though, and people are starting to remember me. It was reckless to stay there as long as I had, but I needed a good replacement. Now I have that."

"God, Bella, I'm so-"

"Please don't," she said quietly, gripping onto the front of my shirt. "Please don't start apologizing for things like this. I don't think I could handle it." She closed her eyes tightly, and I tightened my hold on her and kissed her hair.

"Okay," I said quietly. "And what about things at the Library? Are they going okay?" She tightened her hold on me. "Bella?"

She let out a soft sigh. "Last Monday was my last day there."

"Fuck," I said, letting go of her and rubbing my palms overs my eyes. "Why?" She was quiet. "Bella, please, just tell me," I begged.

"The press managed to hunt down Jasper. They've been asking him questions, talking to other employees. I couldn't take the chance of one of them recognizing me, or getting curious and looking into Bree."

"Fucking Christ," I hissed, and Bella leaned away from me, and went to wrap her arms around herself. Something I noticed she did when she was uncomfortable or worried, when she wasn't covering it in hostility anyways. Like she was hugging herself. I hated seeing her do that, so I pulled her arms away from herself and replaced them with my own, holding her tightly with her back against my chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you," she whispered, her soft hands gripping onto my arms tightly, like she was afraid I'd vanish. "And I didn't want you to think it was your fault, because it's not."

"How is this not my fault?" I forced out in a strained voice. "I'm fucking destroying your life, how are you being so calm about this?"

"Edward, don't get dramatic. You're not d_estroying my life_," she said in an exasperated voice, dropping her head back against my shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and she looked tired. "And I'm calm because for me, it's not a big deal. The only reason I stayed as long as I did at the library was because of my friendship with Jasper. I didn't actually enjoy my work there, and really should have left sooner. Both places. It's just the way I live."

"But what are you going to do?"

"I've been doing some private investigative work for an old contact of mine. It's keeping me busy with the other consulting work I've been doing. I think I could go for a break though, things have been so busy for so long, it gets tiring after a while."

I nodded, watching her carefully. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but something felt… off.

Bella was withdrawing, in a way I had never seen before. There was something… more. Someone should have said something about her pulling out of her routine like this.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?"

"What would happen if Victor found out that you were in New York?"

She turned, and looked me dead in the eyes as she answered in a serious tone. "Emmett would move us, and we'd disappear. Start over somewhere new from scratch."

My heart crumbled, and my hold on her tightened automatically. She didn't have to say the rest, I could see it in her eyes. There was no way they'd take me with them, they couldn't hide me, or make me disappear.

"That's not going to happen though," she said quietly.

"How do you know?"

"I just do," she said with a small smile.

. . . . . . . . . .

She was starting to drift off in my arms on the couch while we watched some Marvel Comics movie, and I was too busy watching her face to watch the film. She'd been so odd the past two days, distracted, quiet, not sleeping very well. We'd even spent an entire day in her bed, and it wasn't often she was able to stay in one place for that length of time. Each night I woke up to find her missing from bed, both times finding her on the roof smoking a joint. And even though she was home much more now without her jobs, she was always busy. Making phone calls, working on her laptop and phones, running errands. She hadn't been kidding when she said that her consulting and investigative work kept her busy.

I barely heard the faint sound of her phone vibrate on her desk, but her eyes shot open, and she walked over to it with a forced casual pace. She checked her phone then sat down at her desk, opened up her laptop, and started typing away through those damn black script pages frantically.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, it's just work. I'll only be a minute."

I nodded, not quite believing her, before I turned back to look at the TV, a pit in my gut.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Hey Emmett, have you noticed anything… off about Bella lately?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking over at her worriedly.

"I'm not sure really, but ever since I got back, it just feels like there's something different about her."

"Maybe she's getting bored of you?" He teased.

"You wish," I told him confidently. Bella fucking loved me, and with the way we both passed out from exhaustion each night, I knew for certain that she wasn't bored. "It's more like she's stressed about something."

"Did you just ask her?"

"Of course, she keeps saying that she's fine though."

"She probably is. She'll talk when she's ready if there's something wrong, just give her some time."

I nodded, looking back over at her as she walked over with a big tray of nachos. She smiled at me, curling into my side after she set them down. Emmett rolled his eyes at us, but said nothing.

I reached over to grab a chip, and jumped when I saw Zeus underneath the table, staring up at me silently with big, brown, sad eyes. I sighed, giving him the chip before taking another. I took a look at my watch and frowned.

"We should probably get going," I hedged, not wanting to leave this spot in the slightest. We'd started getting used to visiting my mom on Thursdays though, and Emmett had already come over to keep Zeus company and escape Rose's mess in the house. He said there were five women passed out in his living room when he left this morning, and that he left Rose a bottle of aspirin and a box of donuts on her nightstand before slipping out without waking her up.

Apparently she had been drinking tequila, and we all knew how she was after a night of that.

Bella nodded, leaning over and giving Emmett a kiss on the cheek and ruffling Zeus' ears as he followed us over to the front door. After giving her brother another wave, we headed out and took the service elevator down to the garage. She was smiling as she slid into her new car, running her hands over the dash affectionately before starting her up, and we made our way through town to my parent's house.

I hadn't really thought about how conspicuous of a vehicle it would be, so she wasn't able to use it often. We felt safe taking it over to my parent's house though because no one could see either of us get in or out. Going from the garage to their private property, no one could tell it was the two of us through the tinted windows.

She had laughed when Emmett asked to take it for a spin, giving him a _'hell fucking no.'_

I took her coat when we walked inside, and froze when I heard her speak.

"Hi Esme, hey Doctor Cullen."

What was he doing home today?

"Bella! I'm so glad you two made it," mom said, running over and pulling Bella into a tight hug.

"Bella, it's nice to see you again," my dad said with a tight smile that looked a little forced.

"You too Doc," she said easily. I smiled, she wasn't going to put up with any shit from him, and I was so proud of her for it. I smiled, walking over and wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"Hey dad, playing hooky?" I asked, and he gave me a look.

"Well, I wasn't going to miss _another_ one of Bella's visits," he said evenly, and gestured for me to follow him. I sighed in annoyance, leaning in to kiss Bella before following him to his office.

"What do you want dad?"

"I think it's very immature of you to be sneaking around me like this," he said sternly, crossing his arms.

"Dad, I'm not sneaking around you. I've told you about Bella, and it was your choice to be rude to her. I'm not going to subject her to your attitude, because it changes nothing between us and it's not fair to her. You're welcome to be a part of our lives, but only if you grow the fuck up and learn some manners."

He gawked at my calm words. I delivered them perfectly, I knew this moment had been coming and I had rehearsed the lines and everything.

"Edward, I know you think you love this woman, but-"

"I do not _think_ that I love her, there is not a doubt in my mind that I love her completely. That's not going to change."

"She's putting you in danger Edward!" He shouted, bringing his fists down on his desk. "I'm sure she's a lovely woman, but from what you've told us about her… it's obvious that she's a danger magnet, you're just going to get hurt staying with her. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Then don't try to put a wedge between us," I said. "Yes, I'm sure that if Victor knew about me, he wouldn't be happy, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. And the risk I'm taking is nothing compared to the ones she's taking being with me."

"If you really loved her, you wouldn't put her in that danger," he said shortly.

I punched the door in anger, cracking it.

"Edward!-"

"Don't you assume that you know even half of the shit that goes on in my life, and don't you DARE fucking tell me that I don't love Bella! She's my entire fucking world and I'd do anything for her." His words hit me deep though, because that was a daily struggle that I battled with; me putting her in danger every time she was with me. "I know it's selfish, and I hate myself every day for endangering her… But I can't live without her dad. Not after knowing her now, I just can't."

"And I've told you that your guilt is completely ridiculous," she said sternly, and we both turned around to see her sliding her fingers down the crack in the door, shaking her head. She walked over to me, and held her hand out for mine. She inspected my bloodied knuckles, frowning slightly before smiling up at me. "I _am_ a bad influence on you, no wonder your father doesn't like me," she teased, making me laugh loudly. My anger just seemed to dissolve away. "Let's go to the bathroom and get this cleaned up."

"Oh, I have some-"

"I have my own kit in my purse, thanks Doc," she said, pulling me out of the room with her. She grabbed her purse by the front door, and we walked into the washroom together. I sat down on the lid of the toilet after rinsing some of the blood off my hand, and she knelt down in front of me with a concentrated yet gentle expression as she pulled splinters out with some tweezers. "Sorry for just barging in like that, but when I heard you hit the door I was worried."

"Don't worry, I'm glad you did. Otherwise it might have been his face I hit next." She shook her head, smiling. "How much did you hear?"

"Just the heated declaration of your love for me," she said with a teasing grin, making me laugh. I flinched when she went over with the alcohol swabs, I hated those fuckers. "Stop being such a girl," she chastised, pulling my hand back and continuing with her work.

We went back out to the kitchen, where my mom and dad were waiting. Mom pushed her down into a seat and put a big plate of food in front of her, laughing when her face lit up with an excited smile.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" She said, looking up at my dad while chewing on a large mouthful of pasta. The corner of his mouth twitched up as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour towards you so far, it wasn't fair of me. I really have nothing against you, it's just-"

"Hey, it's cool. I get it. He's your son, and you're worried about him. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't too, but you have very persistent offspring and I could only say no so many times before I caved," she said, smiling up at me affectionately. I knew she put my sister into the same basket, neither of us had taken no for an answer when it came to her. I grinned back, leaning in and kissing her forehead. "Besides, if anyone wants to get to him they'd have to get through _me_ first," she said confidently. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Esme tells me you teach some self-defence classes?" He asked her curiously, seeming to find that amusing as he looked over her. Oh shit.

"What's so funny about that?" She said, eyeing him darkly. I squeezed onto her thigh under the table to try and relax her before she lost her temper.

"Nothing, it's just-"

"What, because I'm a woman?" She hissed. "Yes, I teach self defense classes, and I've also won many tournaments in kick-boxing, Jujitsu, Karate, and mixed martial arts. I was also the head of security for the largest club in New York City. I could beat you up with my eyes closed and no hands, old man."

Dad just gaped at her, but my mom and I were both smiling. If he had put in the time earlier, he might have known to avoid that, and he would also know how easy she had let him off. She didn't even stand up, and after letting out a frustrated huff, she relaxed and took another bite of her food.

"This sauce is delicious Esme, what spices did you use?" She asked sweetly, and I couldn't help throwing my head back with laughter, then wrapping my arms around her and hugging her. She waved her fork at me, warning me from distracting her from her food, but I took my chances and kissed her anyways before going back to my plate.

My dad was being fucking brave today, and I appreciated the effort he took to speak again, because I knew just how frightening it could be to piss Bella off.

"Where did you learn to wrap bandages like that? You're really good," he mused, catching her by surprise.

"I did a bit of training as an EMT," she said easily, watching him curiously. He smiled brightly at her, and she froze.

"Really, where did you do you training? Which hospital did you work for?"

"Oh, George Washington U in D.C. I wasn't able to stay long enough to get my certification though, so I've never worked for a hospital. I just did it for fun really."

"Oh right, your security job. Do you enjoy it?"

"Yes, I did, but it was more like a hobby."

"I thought teaching classes at your brother's gym was a hobby?"

I was smiling, watching as my dad got completely sucked in to the intricacy that was my girlfriend.

"Yeah, that is too, I just left the New York Historical Society recently though. Now I'm doing some free-lance work as a consultant."

"What did you do there?"

"I took care of historical documents and did some procurement for them along with a few other odd jobs."

"Oh, um. Wow," my dad said, just kind of staring at her. She grinned at him, and went back to eating her food, accepting mom's offer for a second plate.

The afternoon went by amazingly well, my dad hung onto Bella's every word as we laughed and talked in the living room. I knew it wouldn't take him long to fall for her charms, even with her short temper she was irresistible. He gave her a tight hug when we left, scaring her a little bit, before asking her to come back over soon.

"I am so sorry for flipping out on your dad like that," she said in a groan, pulling away from the house.

"Are you kidding me! That was amazing, I've never seen him blanch like that before. Besides, he adores you now, I think he liked it," I said teasingly. She laughed. Her phone beeped, and I picked up her purse. "What me to get that for you?"

"No," she said, a little too quickly. "Thanks, but I'll just check it when we get home," she said with a smile. I noticed that she started driving a little more quickly though. I took Zeus up to the roof when we got in, saying bye to Emmett, and Bella sat down immediately at her desk, ripping open her laptop and getting lost in the matrix.

When I came back in she was lying in bed in her pyjamas, and I quickly kicked off my clothes before sliding in with her. She didn't say anything, she just slid over to me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and burying her face in my neck. I wrapped her tightly in my arms, and fell asleep quickly while holding her.

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Please leave me a review, because I**_**really**_**want to know what you're thinking right now!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A song to set the mood: Take me to Church – Hoizer****  
****  
There are some things in this chapter that were very much out of my range of knowledge, I tried to find what I could online, but it wasn't easy. So yeah… I apologize for any inaccuracies. Just try to roll with it please? This****_is_****fiction…**

**SM owns Twilight, just in case anyone forgot. Doubtful.**

. . . . . . . . . .

I groaned when my phone started ringing, reaching blindly for it on the nightstand. I answered it with a sleepy mumble.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Edward?"

"Yeah? Who's this?" I didn't recognize the blurred number. The deep voice on the other end of the line laughed.

"It's Marcus Volturi."

"Fuck-" I blurted out, sitting up quickly. "Hey Marcus, how are things in LA?"

"Hectic. I'm sorry to call you like this, but when I tried to contact your agent he said that you had fired him?"

"Err, yes. Sorry about that. Long story."

"No problem. I have a bit of an… odd request for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you remember that woman you had working for you last fall? When you signed the contracts?"

"…Yes," I answered hesitantly.

"Well, I need to get in contact with her. I'm having a lot of trouble doing so, and was wondering if you'd know how?"

I rubbed my eyes and looked over at the closed door of the bathroom, the sound of the water running letting me know she was inside. We'd talked about this in those first two weeks we had started hanging out together, but already I knew that I would never give out her name, number, or location without her explicit permission, even if I knew that she went way back with said person. He should know this, and that put me on edge. He seemed to get that from my pause.

"Look, I get if you can't talk about her, but if you are able to see her sometime, could you give her this number? It's kind of important."

"Okay. If I can get in touch with her I'll let her know. I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can, but I'll definitely try."

"Thanks Edward."

"How are things looking for the film? Have you set the filming dates yet?" I felt like he was procrastinating on it, it was odd that he hadn't set the date yet, even so long after the casting party.

"Er… there have been some issues. A few things need to be sorted out first, but we'll need to wait until after winter for all of the outdoor scenes."

"Anything that I should be worried about?" I asked hesitantly.

"Not if you can get me in contact with that woman, hopefully."

I sighed. "Okay, well I'd appreciate if you could keep me posted. I don't plan on taking any jobs after this one for a while, so I don't see the need to hire a new agent right now."

"Yes, of course. Not a problem." Bella walked out of the bathroom in a towel, and gave me a shy smile before opening up her dresser.

"Okay, and I'll do what I can."

"Thank you again. I hope to hear from you soon. Take care."

"You too Marcus." Bella turned at the sound of his name, and gave me a curious look as she slid on her jeans. I held open my arms for her, and she came and joined me, thankfully without a shirt. She was wearing my favourite, blue-lace bra, and I traced the strap of it with my finger before leaning in and kissing her neck. She giggled, and pulled away from me.

"What?"

She blushed when she smiled. "Your face is all scratchy, that tickled," she said with a small laugh, and I grinned brightly before I tightened my hold on her, rubbing my face all over hers and making her squeal and burst into laughter. I let up, pinning her underneath me, and rested my chin against her chest as she tried to catch her breath. I could feel her heartbeat against my face.

"Was that Mac?" She asked eventually, looking at me with that beautiful smile. I nodded. "Did he give you a date yet?"

"No, actually… he was calling trying to get in contact with you." She pursed her lips, looking at me curiously. "I didn't tell him anything, I wasn't sure how much he knew or if he was alone, but I told him if I ran into you again I'd let you know. It sounded kind of important."

"Hmm. Would you mind if I called him back?"

"Not at all," I said, handing her my phone. I released her and she went to her safe behind her TV, took out one of her pre-paid, disposable phones, and came and joined me back on the bed while she waited for it to start up, then dialed his number.

"Hey Mac," she said when I heard the low rumble of his voice on the phone. "Yes, he said it sounded important. What's up?"

I got up and jumped in the shower to give her some privacy, and by the time I came out the apartment was filled with the awesome smell of Bella's cooking.

"What are you making?" I asked, walking up behind her and wrapping my arms around her. She smelt even better than the food she was cooking.

"Crepes, what do you want on yours?"

"Whatever you're having," I answered easily. I'm pretty sure I'd eat tennis shoes if she cooked them.

Luckily she didn't go that far, and we sat at her counter eating our fruit-filled crepes in comfortable silence. I kicked her out to let me clean, and then sat next to her on the couch. She was typing away on her laptop, so I grabbed my manuscript to go over lines again.

I didn't ask what Marcus wanted to talk to her about, because I knew if I asked she'd probably feel obligated to tell me.

. . .

I grabbed some take-out for us as an early dinner, both of us stuck in our own worlds as we concentrated on our own individual tasks. Six rolled around, and she closed her laptop with a soft sigh, rubbing at her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, setting my script down. She didn't look up at me, and was frowning slightly before she wrapped her arms around herself. I bit back my sigh, pulling her into my lap and replacing her arms with my own. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I think I did something bad."

"You think, or you know?" I asked gently.

"I'm not sure. Is it wrong to do something bad to someone to stop them doing bad things to other people?"

I thought about that carefully. "I don't think so. That's what karma is, isn't it?"

"I don't know. I don't believe in karma."

I didn't blame her, because there was no way she deserved all the fucked-up shit she'd been through.

"Well, if your intentions were in the right place, then I don't think so. Were you doing it for personal gain?"

"No."

"You were doing it to help someone else?"

"Yeah."

"Then don't worry about it. You're a good person Bella. I wish you believed that more."

"Thanks," she whispered. "How's your reading going?"

I chose not to point out her weak attempt at a subject change, and went with it instead.

"Ugh… okay I guess? There's this one scene that's really bothering me, I just can't get into it."

She bit her lip shyly, and looked like she was about to ask something, but stopped herself.

"What?"

"Can I… look at it maybe?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You want to read the script?"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, of course you can, I just didn't think it was something you'd be interested in." She was very sensitive about the fact that she'd written a screenplay, I was worried that it would bring back bad memories for her.

"Of course I would be," she said, sliding her arms around my neck and kissing me. "Everything in your life interests me," she said quietly.

I smiled at her. Fuck, I loved her so god damn much.

"Want to read through it with me?"

"Sure," she said happily.

And that was the experience of a lifetime. She was happy to play along and read the lines of the females for me in my scenes, and I shouldn't have been surprised to see how fucking good she was.

She may not have taken acting classes, but she'd played a hundred roles just trying to get through her life. The way she was able to change her tone of voice, the authentic-sounding emotions she was able to create, and the seriousness in which she took the job was pretty fucking impressive.

Fuck, she would do this so much better than Jessica. I really had no clue why Marcus had hired her. It kind of lessened my opinion of him if I was being honest.

"This is the scene I've been having trouble with," I said nervously when we reached the boiler-room scene. I stopped reading and just handed it to her. She took it without asking a question, and read through it.

More than once. I knew she was a fast reader, and she spent a lot of time going over it. I was starting to get nervous. Would this upset her? I wouldn't be doing the actual… intimate part of the scene, but I'd still have to kiss her.

I knew she'd never make me choose between her and my work, but if she ever did, I'd give up every dollar and possession to my name to keep her.

After a while, she set down the script on the table gently, and looked at me. Concern was plain in her eyes.

"Marcus said he had no problem using a body-double, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why does the scene bother you? Do you want to do it now?"

"What? No! Of course not," I said in disbelief.

"Then why is it bothering you?"

I sighed, looking away. It was kind of embarrassing, but it was impossible for me to keep things from her. "It's just… knowing what the scene is supposed to be, the energy, the atmosphere and emotion I'm supposed to portray…. It's hard to get into the right frame of mind knowing that it's… not with you. The whole fucking thing is just making me uncomfortable." And it didn't fucking help that I just couldn't fucking stand my co-star, I was hating the thought of even running lines with her. I let out a deep breath, and when I looked back at her, her eyes were watering.

Fuck, what did I say? I tried to go over my words, but was distracted when she pulled my face down to hers and kissed me passionately.

The whole fucking world disappeared, all that existed was Bella, the taste of her lips on mine, the feel of her small body in my arms. All I wanted was to feel more of her, but she stopped me when my hands tried to sneak under her shirt.

"Wait," she said, trying to catch her breath. I stopped immediately, but didn't loosen my hold on her. She smiled up at me shyly. "I have an idea, but you might think I'm crazy."

"Your crazy is one of the things I love most about you," I told her with a smirk, making her laugh.

"Okay, I'm going to hold you to that. Just give me a couple minutes, okay?"

"Sure," I said, releasing my hold on her. She dashed over to her rack of clothes and disappeared into the washroom.

She came out ten minutes later, her hair in a ponytail, and wearing one of her black pencil skirts, a thin, tight white blouse with a black bra underneath, and a matching black blazer with a pair of black heels. I watched her like a fucking hawk as she walked across the room, scaled her book shelf, and picked out two large hard covers on her way back down.

She opened up one, taking out a fucking sexy-looking gun, and checked the barrel before tossing it to me. She opened up the other book, and took out a different pistol, one that had an older style, checking the barrel also before smiling up at me.

"Fuck, Bella, are these real?"

"Of course they are, they're not loaded though." She smiled brightly at me. "Want to play a game?"

It only took me about half a second to figure out what she was implying, and it had nothing to do with any of those creepy fucking Saw movies. I stood up with a bright smile.

"Hell yes I do."

She smiled at me, then took a deep breath with her eyes closed. When she opened them, I saw immediately that she was in full character, and I took half a second to do the same. She started right from where we left off at the party, after we'd fled and ducked into the kitchen, hiding behind one of the stainless steel cabinets. We ducked behind her couch.

"Fuck, Kellan, we need to get out of here, _now_," she hissed.

"I'll cover you to the door, GO," I ordered, and she dashed over to her doorway before covering me while I did the same. I was quick on her heels, trying to ignore how hot she looked carrying a gun, grabbing her as soon as we stepped into the hallway, and pulling her back up against the wall to protect her from the imaginary shots that were being fired at us.

"There are two of them, to the east," I said in the thick British accent my character had. "I'll distract them, you cover me and take the first, I'll take the second, then we break for the stairwell."

She gave me one curt nod, and held up her gun. I expertly rolled across the hallway.

"Pshuuu, phsuuu," she said, and I fucking froze, before crumbling over and laughing.

"That is so not in the script."

"Either was that! What the hell was that supposed to be?"

"Gun noises, what else?"

"I don't know, some sort of Pokémon maybe?"

"Fuck you, my gun noises are awesome."

"If you say so baby."

"Are we doing this or not? I'm trying to be fucking professional," she said with a sigh, waving her gun around, I could tell she was fighting a grin though. I shot her a wink, then jumped to my feet again, making some much more realistic gun noises. She took my cue, and bolted for the door to the stairs, unlocking them, and I ran up after her onto the roof. She didn't pause when she got up there, and I followed her into the utilities room she unlocked, pulling me inside and slamming the door shut behind me.

We were both quiet for a minute, no sound besides our heavy breathing, until she flicked her lighter, letting me see her face in the flickering light.

"Well, this was a _great_ plan. We're stuck in a fucking dead end," she said in an irritated, sarcastic tone, and then glared at me before walking away.

"They wouldn't expect us to get cornered, so they won't look for us here," I said confidently. We both froze at the imaginary sound of boots running past our hiding place. "We just need to lay low for a while, we'll make a break when their guards are down again."

"And if they do find us?"

I shrugged. "We're all going to die eventually. Might as well meet our maker doing something exciting."

We were silent for a minute, my heart pounding loudly in my ears as I waited to see if she'd actually keep going. The second her hand slid around my neck, and up into my hair, pulling my face down to hers, I was ready to go.

"I have a few ideas of how we could do that," she purred, pressing her body up against mine. I dipped down, gripping onto the backs of her thighs, and lifted her up as I pushed her up against what I think was the hot water tank, before I quickly pulled her back.

"Shit, that thing's fucking hot. You okay?" I'd have to warn Marcus of the little flaw in his script.

"Yes, you barely even let me touch it," she said in an adoring voice. I could hear her smile.

"Wall?"

"Sounds good."

So then I moved to the right and forward, pushing her up against the cold hard wall. I was a little rougher than I liked being with her, and her air left her lungs in a bit of a huff at the contact.

It was pitch black in the room, but I could feel her heart beating against my chest.

"Bella, are you okay?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, I don't want you to stop," she whispered. I kissed her softly before switching back to my accent.

"Well, Love, I have a few ideas myself. But we need to be quiet."

"I can be quiet."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I said back in a deep voice, and kissed her firmly. Her legs were tight around my waist and I leaned my weight against her. I attacked the buttons on her shirt as she tugged on mine, and once I finally got the blasted thing off, my hands moved up her thighs, pushing up her skirt.

We didn't talk, though I wanted to. There were no lines in the script though, and she seemed pretty fucking in character, so I tried to stay also. I was combining two different worlds though, and it was impossible not to look at her as my Bella as she tried to take over, wrestling for control, and I kept pinning her against the wall.

And when she tried to push me away one last time, to do what she knew was in the script, I stopped her, pinning her arms on the wall above her and kissing her.

"Edward, that's not-"

"I don't fucking care. I'll only go so far, and I'm not letting my woman get down on her fucking knees," I growled, and caught her moan in my mouth as I kissed her again, hard. There was a big fucking difference to me; fooling around and trying new things when we were in her bed, but the idea of her kneeling down in a dirty utility room just had no fucking appeal to me. It felt demeaning, and I just couldn't let her do it. She was so much more to me than a good fuck. I wanted this woman to be my _wife_. She didn't argue with me, or try to stop me as I moved my hands over her, unclasping her bra and dropping it to the floor before I covered her neck in nips and kisses.

"Fuck," She gasped quietly as I bit her nipple, and gently rolled my tongue over it to sooth the spot. "Please," she said quietly, her fingers digging into my shoulders. I was pretty fucking quick at getting my belt undone when her tongue trailed along the shell of my ear, and she sucked my earlobe into her mouth.

Her gasp echoed around the black room with my hiss as I thrust into her, and I paused for a moment to make sure I hadn't hurt her. It was hard, because all I wanted to do was fuck my beautiful girlfriend against this wall and make her scream my name.

And when she begged for me not to stop, that's exactly what I fucking did.

. . .

After our little role-playing game, Bella had about a million questions to ask me about all of the movies I've done, what school had been like, how I'd been able to pick up so many accents. She was very partial to my Irish one, and I made sure to file that information away for a later date. That led to a more depressing conversation; about how she owned all of my movies, but had never been able to bring herself to watch any of them because of the one movie of mine that she _had_ watched. The one she had written.

But she said she wanted to watch them now, and as awkward as I found it watching my own films, I could never deny her anything.

So we spent the night playing a drinking game. Every scene I was in we took a shot, and by the end of the first movie we were completely trashed and spent a good hour sitting on the floor in front of her fridge, eating pretty much everything.

. . . . . . . . . . .

When I came out of the shower and looked over at Bella on her couch, I immediately knew that something was wrong. I could just _feel_ it. Sure enough, when I walked over to join her, I saw that she was silently crying while staring at the screen of her laptop. I sat down next to her cautiously, and swiped away the moisture on her cheek with my thumb.

Before I could ask her what was wrong, she silently handed me her laptop. I froze when I read the headline of the news article her browser was opened to.

"**Jessica Stanley: Porn Star?"** The headline read. Along with some blurry images of a woman that was definitely Jessica.

It only took me a minute to put two and two together, and figure out why she was upset.

"Marcus?"

"She was b-blackmailing him. It's why he hired her for the part, although he really d-didn't want to. I guess his wife got into some trouble with drugs a while back… He asked for my help, he said he'd only use it to threaten her… and I guess she didn't head the threat," she said, her voice tapering off into a hoarse whisper. "He _told_ me he wouldn't do it. I thought she was a bitch, but she didn't deserve _this_."

I sighed, not quite sure what to say to that. Because, really, I thought she did deserve it. If she had black-mailed him, and he had given her the chance to back off... it explained a lot, I knew Marcus had better judgement. She would have ruined his movie, and with that, his reputation.

I had to say or do something though. It was impossible not to as I watched her cry. I gently closed the computer, setting it on the table, and tried to pull her onto my lap. She tried to push me away at first, but quickly gave up and leaned into me instead.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She cried into my shirt.

"Because you don't deserve to be beat up over this, and you're doing too much of that to yourself already."

"I'm a horrible person."

"You're the most amazing person I know."

I was tempted to touch my wallet, where her ring was just waiting for me to find the balls to offer it to her, but I forced myself to resist the urge. We had only been together a couple months, and really, I was Bella's first boyfriend. First… everything. I knew she loved me, but asking her this soon just felt like I was rushing it. I couldn't do that, pressure her like that.

"You're only saying that because you love me," she whispered.

"Not only. It's also because I think it's true. Jessica is a horrible person, a complete bitch to anyone who wasn't on a higher pay scale than herself or could give her something she wanted. You know, even losing the part, she's probably going to love the publicity."

Bella didn't say anything, so I just held her like that for a long time, until she got it out of her system. She sniffled when she pulled away from me, and watched me with worry and embarrassment.

"I'm sorry about that," she said quietly. I gave her a gentle smile as I cupped her beautiful face in my hands and kissed her.

"Don't be, I want to be here to hold you when you're upset. It means the world to me that you let me," I told her honestly. I was very much aware of Bella's need for keeping herself composed, she didn't like to show what she considered weakness in front of anyone. I honestly doubt anyone besides Emmett or myself had ever seen her cry. It meant a lot to me that she was able to let her guard down around me, be herself. She didn't do that with anyone else, even her brother. She gave me a small smile as she leaned into my hand.

"Thank you."

I smiled, and kissed her again. It was obvious that she was still stressed about the situation though, and I quickly tried to think of something to distract her.

There had been something I wanted to do for a while, but it was always hard to leave the comfort and safety of her building. The weather wasn't great, but that would probably work in our favour.

"I want to take you out," I said seriously. "Do you think you could put on one of your better disguises?"

She watched me curiously for a moment, pursing her lips before she smiled. She didn't even ask what we were doing, which was pretty weird.

"Sure," she said happily, and kissed me again before I gave her a hand off of my lap. "What should I dress for?"

"Just the weather, something comfortable and warm," I called back before she disappeared into her bathroom.

She came out an hour later, with her blond wig, a white-knit sweater dress, and black leggings. She slipped on a long, brown leather jacket, and I steadied her, holding her hand as she slipped on a pair of boots. I pulled on a thick tuque and my own jacket and shoes before we both slid on our large sunglasses.

"Are we walking or driving?" She asked curiously. I paused, because I didn't want her to be driving.

"Would you mind if we took a cab?" I asked cautiously. I knew the real reason now of why she didn't trust other drivers, being thrown out of a moving car and all, but I also knew that she felt safe when she was with me, as weird as that fucking was. I loved the faith she had in me though. "I won't let go of you for a second," I whispered into her ear before kissing her neck. She shivered, her hands gripping onto my biceps.

"I don't mind," she said quietly, and I grinned before kissing her lips and pulling her along with me out of the building, and walked down the street. I waved down the first cab I saw, and held the door for her and slid in after her, tucking her under my arm.

I had him take us down to the 5Points Aerosol Art Center, because I had really wanted to see it again, hearing that the owner was thinking of tearing it down to build some condos. We spent over an hour walking around the building, looking at all of the different styles of tags that had been painted on the walls. I was kind of surprised that Bella had never seen it before, and even more surprised when I realized that as long as she had lived in New York, she had never taken the time to play tourist. So I also took her to see the Statue of Liberty, though we didn't go to the island because it took forever. We walked together hand in hand across the Brooklyn bridge, and we grabbed dinner and a hot chocolate at a small café before I took her skating at the Rockafeller center. It was extremely entertaining to find something she wasn't good at. Teaching her how to skate, catching her whenever she stumbled, doing something so fucking normal with her, was amazing. I never wanted the day to end, but we were both exhausted, and Zeus was home alone, so we headed back to the apartment.

"Thank you, for today," she said with a shy smile. "That was really fun."

"It was," I said back. I wished every day could be like this, and I had to stifle the automatic rage that filled me every time I thought about everything Victor had taken from her; from us.

All I could do was pray that he'd be found, caught, dealt with in some manner so that we could try to live our lives without having his ominous shadow cast over us.

"So, Emmett wants us to come over for dinner tomorrow," she said, shrugging off her coat.

"Shit, I forgot about that," I admitted. I knew it still kind of bothered him, how fast things had moved between Bella and I, and the fact that we were practically living together. I didn't like rubbing it in his face, because I wanted to stay in his good books when it came to his sister. I sighed, not really wanting to leave, but knowing I needed to rotate my wardrobe. "I should go back to the apartment and grab some new clothes."

She looked panicked for a moment, but the look was quickly replaced by a smile. "Okay, do you want me to go with you?"

"Yes, but you know that we shouldn't."

She sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be clingy, but it's been so long since I've heard you play your piano."

I laughed. "One, you are not clingy. I could go for a bit more clinging to be honest," I said in a teasing voice. She rolled her eyes, but was grinning at me. "And… if you want, maybe we could have my piano moved over here?" I was suddenly nervous, and hoped I wasn't being too presumptuous. But she beamed happily at me.

"Really? You'd want to do that?"

"Of course. I have no desire to play anymore unless you're there with me."

She leaned forward, kissing me gently with a small smile on her lips. "I love you so much, and I'd love for you to move your piano over here," she said, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

"I love you too," I said with a smile, kissing her again before I got up from the couch. I stuffed a bunch of my clothes into my duffel bag to make room for some new ones. I stopped by her kitchen, picking up the set of keys that were apparently mine from the bowl on her counter.

"Mind if I take these?" I asked, and felt pretty damn good when I saw her brilliant smile.

"Not at all," she said softly. "Hurry back?"

"Always." I gave her another kiss, and attached the keys to a chain around my neck as I rode the elevator down. I could feel them against my chest, and having that reassurance that I'd notice the second they weren't there took some of the worry off of my shoulders.

I stepped out of the door from the parking garage, then walked around the corner to get a cab.

As I turned the corner, I collided with another body, and almost fell back before a hand steadied me.

"Shit, sorry dude. Didn't see you there," a deep voice said, and I looked over at the man.

He was almost my height, muscular with ice blue eyes and black hair. There was something oddly familiar about him, but I quickly shook off the thought and smiled at him.

"No problem. You okay?"

"Yeah," he said in a gruff voice, and I was surprised by the cold glare he gave me, his fists clenching.

"Okay, well, have a good night. Sorry again."

He just smiled at me, and the look of it sent shivers down my spine. He didn't say anything, so I just turned away from the guy and walked down the street, hailing down a cab.

We were about a block away from my place when I realized I'd forgotten my phone. I don't know why, but it made me panic, and I told the cabbie to turn around and head back. He waited outside for me as I went back up, but when I got to the apartment and went inside, she wasn't there. Zeus ran up to me, whimpering.

"Hey boy, where's your mom?" I asked curiously, looking around. Her purse was still here, but a set of her car keys were gone. I looked around for my phone, but couldn't find it anywhere.

I smiled. Maybe she realized I forgot it, and went over anyways. I gave Zeus another scratch behind the ears before I left and locked up again, a little surprised when he started barking and scratching at the door. I'd never heard him do that before, but if I missed Bella and she came back, and he wasn't here, she would freak out, so I couldn't bring him with me. It put a pit in my stomach leaving him like that, but I forced myself back into the elevator, and back out to the waiting cab.

Traffic was at a standstill by the time we got back to my block once more, so I just paid him and walked down the street.

I froze when I saw what was blocking traffic. Bella's car was stopped on the right lane of the road, and cars were slowing down to look at the beautiful car as they went to pass in the left lane. It was still running.

She wasn't inside.

Then I heard the shot go off. People started screaming.

It was quickly followed by a second shot as I ran towards my building.

I stopped breathing, but my legs sped up when she came into view. I wove through the thick crowd of people running in the opposite direction that I was. She was leaning against the wall of my building, sliding down until she was sitting pretty much, and there was a large man kneeling down in front of her. He leaned in, his lips brushing against my Bella's, and her bloody hands lifted up shakily and cupped his face. I didn't stop, I was so close to her.

So I didn't miss it when she jerked her hands, snapping the man's neck. His lifeless body dropped down on top of her.

I was ripping him off of her in the same second, recognizing him as the man that had bumped into me less than a half hour ago. It didn't fucking matter though as I saw the blood pouring out of Bella's stomach, a stark contrast to her white knit dress. I ripped off my scarf, putting pressure against both of the wounds like she had taught me, trying not to crumble apart.

There was so much blood, someone from behind me said they'd already called 9-1-1.

"Bella, baby, can you hear me?" I couldn't stop the tears from escaping my eyes. Hers fluttered open, and a choked sob escaped my mouth as she smiled up at me beautifully.

"You're okay," she breathed in relief, her voice weak. I could hear the sirens getting closer.

"You're going to be okay baby, the ambulance is coming. Just hold on, _please_, just hold on."

"I love you," she whispered, a tear escaping her eyes before she coughed. A bit of blood trickled out of her mouth. "I'm so sorry." She started coughing again, and her eyes fluttered closed.

"_No,_ keep your eyes open. Please baby, _just keep your eyes open."_

She didn't open them again though, and her blood soaked through my scarf, the thick liquid warming my hands. The ambulances pulled up on the curb next to me, and two men quickly jumped out of each of them. Two were taking to me, but I didn't hear anything. I let them push me away as they shifted her onto a stretcher, and someone pulled me into the ambulance with them before they took off. They were saying something about an artery, something about saline, and that she was losing too much blood as they cut through her dress and tried to slow the bleeding. That broke me out of my shock, and some of my panic shifted into anger.

"Can't you give her a transfusion or something? Do something!" I practically shouted. They had to do _something_. I knew my apartment wasn't close to a hospital, the roads were horrible, and there was so much fucking blood.

"The best we can do right now is a saline solution sir, we don't carry blood on ambulances-"

"Why the fuck not!" That didn't make any fucking sense! "She's going to bleed out before we even-" My voice caught on a sob, and then I remembered something Bella had told me not long after her brother's wedding, when she was teaching me some basic first aid…

"We have the same blood type." Though I just couldn't remember what the fucking type was. FUCK. "Do you have the equipment to do a person to person transfusion?" I saw them do that on that zombie show she loved, I just didn't know if people actually did that.

They stared at me in disbelief for about three seconds before there was a flurry of activity.

"Are either of you on any medications, or do you have any sort of disease?"

"No," I said, yanking up my sleeve. "Please, just… don't let her die."

That was the longest drive of my life, it felt like days instead of minutes as I watched Bella's pale, still face. They timed to disconnect the tubes just as we reached the hospital, and my head was spinning as I ran through the corridors with them and they rolled Bella into surgery.

I almost ran straight into my father, who was in his scrubs and looked at me in horror.

"Edward, what-"

"Please! Dad, you have to save her, we have the same blood type, but-" My voice caught in my throat, and my dad quickly went into doctor mode.

"Set her up with AB positive then get him out of here, and call my wife to let her know he's here. Edward, do you know if she has any allergies to anything?"

"No, she doesn't."

"That's good son, very good. Now, I need you to leave. We have to operate, right now."

"But-"

"Edward. _Now,"_ he said, giving me a stern look. Someone pulled me out of the room and sat me in a chair somewhere.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, lost in a numb haze. She was fucking everything to me, I couldn't lose her. I couldn't live through that. I looked down at my hands, and almost screamed when I saw the blood covering me. It was everywhere. My hands, arms, shirt, pants… I swear I could actually smell it, and the rust and salt filling my nostrils made me throw up in the garbage can next to me before I blacked out.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Cliff-hanger. I know, I'm sorry. Kind of. Not really. It's not like this is the last chapter. Please don't hurt me.**

**I only have very basic first aid training, and I've never been to New York. I've never actually stepped a foot outside of Canada. So once again, I apologize for any inaccuracies.**

**And I enjoyed your theories, a few of you guys got close. Did you really think Bella could just disappear and leave him? Tsk tsk. Please leave a review!**

**Love,****  
****Kitty**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! Thanks to all those who read and reviewed last chapter, I'd been waiting a very long time to share that with you! The feedback really meant a lot to me :) This chapter should clear some stuff up for ya.**

**Once again, I'm not Stephanie Meyer so I don't own the characters. Just the plot.**

**Song - Stay With Me – Sam Smith**

. . . . . . . . .

Everything fucking hurt, that's the first thing that my mind established. That was forgotten in the same instant as I realized I had passed out.

And _why_ I passed out.

Something started fucking beeping like crazy as I tried to get up, and was pinned back down. I just yelled, trying to throw whoeverthefuck off of me. I needed Bella. I needed to see Bella. I just had to fucking know right this second _what the fuck was going on with my Bella_.

"Edward! Fuck, calm down!" Jasper's voice shouted at me. "_Please!_ Just calm down man, look at me."

"Edward, you're going to be okay," my sister's voice said in a soft sob from somewhere next to me. Hearing her voice like that is what broke through, and a few seconds later I stopped struggling, dropping back in defeat.

I couldn't open my eyes to look at them, because I knew I'd just start fucking crying.

"Where is she?" I choked out in a hoarse voice.

"She's still in s-surgery. Dad's working on her. You know how g-good he is," she said in a painful, trembling voice.

"Esme just called Alice about a half hour ago, we got here maybe five minutes before you woke up," Jasper said in a calming voice. "She already called Emmett and Rose, they're sitting in the waiting room for surgery."

I opened my eyes then. My mind was kind of on overload with everything that was happening, had happened. The sounds of the shots, the man with the black hair who had almost knocked me over kissing Bella. I knew now why he had looked so familiar; he was older, but the shape of his face was still the same as eight years ago on that picture at the end of my movie. I hadn't forgotten my phone, Victor had taken it when he'd almost knocked me over.

She'd broken his neck. Victor was dead.

Bella had been relieved to see that I was okay. He must have used my phone to lure her, using me as leverage. She'd left her car running in the street, no doubt in some sort of haste to fucking save me.

And he'd shot her.

Twice.

There was so much blood. Bella's blood.

I looked around, taking in my sister and Jasper on either side of me, and a nurse looking at me warily. I kept my eyes on her as I calmly took off the blood pressure cuff and the stickers that were on me. I was still in my clothes, but I could see that someone had tried to wash the blood off of my arms and hands. They hadn't succeeded, but it made no difference when my clothes looked like this. Black and red.

My tears just silently spilled over again as I looked down at myself. I didn't fucking care.

I needed her to be okay. She had to be.

I needed to see her.

"I need to see Bella," I choked out, looking at my sister. She was crying, her eyes puffy and red. She nodded though, and handed me a bag. "I don't care about my fucking clothes."

"Please, just… for Emmett? I don't think he could handle it," she whispered.

She was right, so I took the bag from her, and went over to the bathroom without a word. There was a plastic bag that had official looking shit on it that I didn't bother to read. I figured they wanted my clothes, because it was all I really had right now. I stuffed them in, then wet a cloth to try and remove as much of the rest of it as I could. I put on the stuff my sister brought me, not really registering much beyond the fact that they were jeans and a shirt, and went back out to the others. I noted that we had been set up in my father's office. The others stood without another word and led the way.

When we reached the proper, private waiting room- it had two police officers standing sentry at the moment, but they let our party pass without a word- my heart broke all over again. Emmett's large form was hunched in a chair, his face buried in his hands while he remained completely still. Rose was sitting next to him, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared at the door and silently cried.

We all sat down with them. Me in a single chair across from Emmett, and Alice with Jasper on a small couch. No one spoke, we just all sat silent and still as we waited for some sort of news.

. . .

We sat there much too long. So long I was afraid to ask what time it was and have my fears confirmed. The tension in the room grew and thickened by the minute. By the hour. I knew I wasn't the only person thinking along these lines, I could see it in each of their faces.

It felt like years later that my father came out, looking exhausted, haunted. We all seemed to jump to our feet at the same time, making him take a cautious step back. He looked at each one of us for a quick moment before deciding to speak.

"Emmett, did you want to speak privately or-"

My heart fucking stopped, so did my lungs. No no no…

"No," Emmett said in a detached voice. My father nodded quietly, and took a breath before he spoke.

"I got the bullets out… one of them had hit an artery, but she didn't seem to have lost as much blood as she should have. It was deep but didn't hit anything else. One of her ribs stopped the other bullet. It shattered, but we were able to repair it. I don't know how she's still… she crashed twice, but she's stable for now. The rest is up to her. It was a lot of trauma for her body to take. It would be helpful if I had her medical history."

"I know where she keeps-" I sucked in a sharp breath, a bolt of pain going through my chest.

Zeus.

"I'll get them, I need to see Zeus, he's been all alone at home and-" I caught Emmett's incredulous look, and felt horrible once more. I couldn't handle this. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't concentrate and my mind was being pulled in too many directions.

But I did know above all else that Bella would want someone to check on Zeus. He'd been home alone for at least twelve hours by now.

"Only if you don't want to Emmett. I don't mind though, if you wanted to stay here."

He watched me for another long minute with his anguished eyes, before sighing and dropping his head again.

"Thank you Edward. I can't… I need to stay here."

"Don't worry about it. Just, can I see her first?"

"She's still being prepped before we move her to the ICU, it will be a couple hours before anyone can see her," my dad said gently to Emmett. He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Okay, then I'll be back to see you all soon," I said in a quiet, slightly-detached voice. Then I realized that I was missing, well, practically everything. Except for the keys on the chain around my neck ironically. "My wallet is missing, and my phone is-" My voice caught in my throat and I tried to clear it away. "I don't have a phone anymore."

Fuck, I guess I needed to talk to the police. I didn't trust them, Bella rubbing off on me I guess, but the man they leaked their information to was dead now. So I guess it didn't really fucking matter.

Alice dug through her purse quickly, handing me my wallet. Not a dime was missing.

Bella's ring was still there.

Jasper lent me his phone.

"It has everyone's numbers in it, but I was thinking that maybe we should go with you to-"

"No, but thanks Jasper. You guys should stay here and help Emmett."

He nodded, and I gave them a nod before walking out of the room.

An officer tried to stop me on the way out.

"Sir, we need to ask you a couple-"

"Am I under arrest?" I hissed at the man, and his voice faltered for a moment as he looked at me.

"No but-"

"Then take your fucking hands off of me," I growled, and the man quickly removed his hand from my arm.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cullen. But we need to ask you some questions."

"I have shit to do right now that's more important. You can ask me questions later."

I was a little surprised when he just nodded and let me walk away.

I probably shouldn't have gone out by myself. There were about a hundred reporters gathered around the hospital, and the crowd was impossible to get through, just pushing me back into the building. I walked back in, used Jasper's phone to call Riley, and had him come pick me up by the back door.

Thankfully, he was completely silent as he drove me over to Bella's building. I didn't have my remote for the garage door, so I walked around to go in through the side door to the garage, then took the elevator up to her floor.

Zeus knocked me to the floor when I got in, whimpering and whining as he licked at my face. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him and trying to calm him down a bit before I took him up to the roof. He stayed glued to my side the entire time, I had to walk with him into the snow-covered grass area so he'd do his business. We sat up there for a while, staring at the snow as I worked up the courage to go back down to the apartment.

I took a quick shower, leaving the door to the washroom open because Zeus started scratching at it as soon as I tried to close it. I didn't have many sets of clothes left here, but got changed into a pair of jeans and a plain black, long-sleeved t-shirt.

I didn't feel any better, but there was no more blood on me at least.

I went over to her TV, hitting the latch on the side that released the hidden door to Bella's safe. I put in the code and opened it, ignoring the stacks of cash, the different IDs and passports to take out her small box of thumb drives, taking the one labelled "Medical Records." There was also an "Emmett: In Case of Incident," drive in there too that I took. Once I had those I closed and locked it again, then walked over to the bed and sat down. Then I curled up on my side.

Her pillow smelt like her. I sat there for a long time, not bothering to tell Zeus to get down when he came and joined me.

"She's going to be okay," I told him. "She is. She has to be." He licked my face, and sat with me for a long time before I managed to force myself to get up. I cleaned up the messes he'd made inside, then changed Zeus' water and fed him before taking him back up to the roof, then I packed a few things for Bella in her black backpack. Her phones, her laptop, some clothes and her shower stuff. I was reluctant to leave him, but I had to get back to her.

Riley took me back to the Hospital, handing me a new phone on the way without a word. I don't know how he got one so quickly, but it was programmed with all my old contacts and had my old number on it again. He cleared a path for me to get back into the building before a couple officers helped him. They were preventing the reporters from entering the hospital. I made my way over to my father's office, and knocked once before walking in.

"Edward," he said in a quiet voice. I walked over, and handed him the thumb drive. "What's this?"

"Her medical records." He gave me a questioning look, and I let out a small sigh, trying to keep control of my emotions. "Everything that's ever happened to her is on this drive. She's lived under a lot of different names, but she typed up and scanned every medical document that's ever been written about her and put it on here, in case anything ever… If anything ever happened to her."

He gave me a sad nod, and took the thumb drive from me before walking me up to the ICU.

"Only immediate family are able to go in but… I'm sorry, you can wait out here if you want."

I didn't say anything, because really I just wanted to punch him in the face for telling me that. I was going to see her no matter what they said, but I sat down next to my sister for the moment to bide my time as my father disappeared behind the glass doors.

"Any news?"

"No, she just got moved down here about half an hour ago. Rose and Emmett haven't come back out yet. That's not really surprising though."

"How are they holding up?"

"Not well."

I nodded, that wasn't surprising either. My father came back out.

"How long will she be kept in the ICU?" I asked when he came over.

"Two days, maybe three. We just need to keep a close eye on her for the time being. I'm going to go start reading through her file to make sure there isn't something I should be worried about." I nodded, and he gave my sister a kiss on the cheek, then me a pat on the shoulder before leaving again.

Mom ran in about ten minutes later, looked at us, then started crying as she ran over and threw her arms around me. I held her tightly. She was sniffling when she loosened her hold on me, then cupped my face in her hands. "Is she okay? Are you okay? What happened?" She asked with a sob. I helped her into the chair next to me.

"It was Victor. He found her. He got my phone, used it to lure her I guess, and shot her in front of my building."

The room froze as the three of them looked at me in astonishment.

"I thought you already knew that," I told my sister and Jasper.

"No… all we knew was that she was shot," he told me.

I just nodded. There was nothing else I could say. This was my fucking fault.

I always knew I was a danger to her, but I'd fucking stayed anyways. I was so fucking selfish. And now…

No, she wasn't going to die. She was going to pull through this. She was the strongest person I knew, she'd get past this.

We all sat there the entire day, but I never found an opening to try and sneak past. There were officers, FBI I think, standing outside of her room, and Emmett and Rose never left her side. Mom brought food for all of us, but no one felt up to eating.

When nine rolled around, we were politely kicked out and told we could come back at eight the next day.

I went back to the apartment, alone, and didn't sleep a second. Having Zeus next to me calmed me a little though.

The next day was the same. I didn't get to see Bella, or talk to Emmett. I needed to ask him what I could tell the police, even though oddly enough, none of them approached me again, but I couldn't bring myself to pull him away from his sister.

I needed to see her, and felt myself losing my grip on my sanity a little more as each second passed.

I spent the night with Zeus again, waking up every five minutes, still able to feel the warmth and thickness of her blood on my hands.

The smile on her face as she told me she loved me that last time in her apartment.

The blood trickling out of her mouth as she told me she loved me that last time in front of_my_ apartment.

The next morning, I went to leave, but thinking about calling Riley for a lift, getting to the hospital in a cab, or leaving the hospital in a cab, pissed me the hell off. I was hating relying on others to drive me, having to wait and losing that time every day. Having to hide my face from them. They always saw me, and taxis didn't have tinted windows. And all the fucking questions.

I just… wanted some semblance of control over _something._

So I walked half a block down to a branch of my bank, and took out some money. Banks should sell briefcases. But they didn't. I bought one off of an employee there, because walking down the street with a bag of cash in New York wasn't really a smart thing to do.

Then I walked the rest of the way down the block, stopping at the first car dealership I found. It was a Volvo dealership. I really didn't care what sort of car I got, but Bella didn't have an SUV, and I thought maybe we could go camping or something. There was plenty of room for Zeus, he would have been cramped in any of the cars, and I really didn't feel like shopping around.

"Can I help you sir?" A man in a suit asked skeptically, until I took off my glasses. Not many people recognized me with a beard coming in.

"Yes, I'd like this car."

"Oh, well let me show you-"

"I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Oh, well it takes a few days to gets the plates and regis-"

I sighed. "How much is it? This one right here, or one like it. I like the tinted windows."

"About 75 000," he answered hesitantly.

"I'll give you a hundred K in cash right now if you have it ready in an hour."

He stared at me, stunned for a moment, before clearing his throat.

"Standard or automatic?"

"Which one is easier to drive?"

"Automatic."

"Then that one."

"Yes sir, can I get you a coffee or newspaper while you wait?"

"Coffee would be great, thanks."

And sure enough, an hour later the salesman showed me how to drive the fucking thing, because it had been almost twelve years since I had last driven a car. He looked fucking terrified, and relieved as shit when he got out and I drove off of the lot.

The reporters couldn't see me, but they dove out of the way when I pulled through the gates to get in the hospital. It was a good move on their part, because I didn't really care if I hit any of them.

No one was in the waiting room, and the cops weren't in front of her room any more. I stopped breathing, stepping back and bumping into someone. I spun around to face Emmett.

His face was haunted, and I didn't recognize his voice when he spoke. "I forgot my coat. They moved her to a private room, I'll take you up in a sec."

I nodded, and watched him as he silently retrieved his coat, then brought me down two floors and down a couple hallways to her room.

And I finally got to fucking see her again.

Time sort of stopped when I looked at her. There were tubes helping her breath, tubes giving her medication, all sorts of wires were hooked up to her. She was extremely pale, in a sick sort of way, not her usual, beautiful porcelain skin.

She looked so fucking fragile. I wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her, to hold her and touch her, but I was terrified of disrupting all of the technology that was hooked up to her right now. Emmett sat down next to me.

"Thanks, for bringing that stuff for her. Alice gave me the bag."

"No problem, she's probably going to freak out when she wakes up, not having checked her e-mail accounts in a few days."

Emmett nodded, and I saw Rose leave the room in my peripherals.

"How's Zeus doing?"

"He misses her, but he's okay. Hasn't destroyed the apartment yet."

He nodded again.

We were silent for a long moment before I had to say _something_, the guilt was eating away at me.

"I'm so fucking sorry Emmett. This is all my fault. He got my phone, I didn't recognize him when he bumped into me, he had dyed his hair black and he was so much older… He used it to lure her to him. I'm so fucking sorry."

"He would have found some way, with or without you in the picture," he said in a slightly detached voice. "If it's anyone's fault, it was mine. It's always been my fault."

"What do you mean?"

"She told me, so many times. When we were younger. She told me over and over again that she didn't like him, that he made her uncomfortable, that she was _scared_of him, and I never took her seriously. She should have put _that_ in the damn movie, but she made me look like a fucking hero instead."

"Because that's how she sees you."

He nodded, and when I looked over at him there were tears coming out of his eyes.

I'd never seen Emmett cry before. Never.

"You know, I hated her when she was a baby."

That took me by surprise. "She's never mentioned that."

"No, she was too young to remember," he said in a gentle voice. "From the moment she learned to crawl, she fucking followed me _everywhere_. Like a little duck. It annoyed the hell out of me. The way I saw it at the time, my mom died, and we got this loud, messy, crying thing instead of her. I blamed her, and told her that every fucking day."

"What changed?"

He smiled. "Her first day of kindergarten." He laughed softly. "I was supposed to pick her up on my way home and walk with her. I was late, because I really hadn't wanted to get her when I could have been hanging out with my friends, and found a couple kids pushing her around in the sandbox. Everything shifted then, and all I knew was that there was no way anyone was going to fuck with my baby sister but me. By the time I got close to them though, she had punched one of the kids in the face, and he ran away crying, the others hot on his heels." His voice caught on a sob. "And she just smiled up at me, all proud, and said; "Look Emmy! I kept my thumb on the outside, just like you said, and it didn't hurt!" And I just fucking laughed. I couldn't stop laughing, because she was the cutest fucking kid I'd ever seen. She looks so much like our mom you know, just with dad's eyes. She has the same smile too. I swore in that moment that I'd never let anything happen to her again, and I've broken that promise so many god damn times."

"She doesn't care, she loves you more than anything."

"She loves you too."

"I know." I took out my wallet, and took out the ring I had gotten in Italy. His eyes went wide. "I was waiting for the right time to ask her," I explained, my voice catching on a sob. I handed it over for Emmett to look at when he reached for it. He was quiet for a long moment.

"Holy shit," he mumbled. "You just kept this thing in your fucking wallet? Christ, how much does one of these things go for?"

I smirked. "I'd rather not say. I figured if I had any chance in getting her to wear a ring, it would have to be impressive. She's not big on jewelry."

"You'll still have time to ask her," he said in a thick voice.

"I know."

"And you have my blessing. You're good for her. I've never seen her as happy as she is when she's with you."

"Thanks."

"Have you talked to the cops yet?"

"No, I didn't know how much I could say."

"Good… thank you. Our contact in the FBI will be here tomorrow, he's been taking care of the authorities so far. You can talk to him freely; he'll deal with the cops." I nodded, feeling a bit relieved that I'd at least done something right.

Rose came back not long after, and we sat in silence for a long time before I told them that they should go home, shower, change, get something to eat. They listened, although reluctantly, but I assured them that I'd call the second anything happened, no matter how small.

They left, and I sat down cautiously on the edge of Bella's bed, kissing her forehead before I gently took her hand, the one that didn't have tubes coming out of it, in both of mine. Her skin felt cold, so I got another blanket for her. My dad came in not long after her.

I'd never seen his face like that before, he looked years older, drained, exhausted, and so fucking sad. I automatically panicked.

"What's wrong? What happened? Should I call Emmett?" I couldn't breathe, and felt extremely dizzy, but my dad helped me back down into a chair and calmed me down.

"Nothing's changed, I just finished reading through her medical history. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just… wanted to see her."

"Did you find anything reassuring? When will she wake up?"

"I didn't find anything to cause extra concern. I want to keep her sedated for now though. If she were to wake up now… She'd be in too much pain, and it would make it harder for her to heal. Two guns shots, that shattered rib, and the resulting surgery is a lot of trauma for a body to take. This is best for her for now."

"How long?"

He let out a sad sigh. "It all depends on how she heals. We'll have to play that by ear. I'll be keeping a close eye on her."

I nodded, and was silent as he went over her charts and checked her machines, before checking her stitches. It became hard to breathe again, seeing the damage myself that he had once again inflicted on her.

But he was dead now. Thank fucking god.

"I kept the incisions as small as possible, the scars should be barely noticeable," dad said, catching my gaze. I just nodded. The scars didn't fucking matter to me, it was just the fact that my Bella was hurt, and lying in a hospital bed in a fucking medically-induced coma because that son of a bitch shot her. Twice.

"You don't need to stay here Edward. She's stable, there's nothing anyone can do right now. She won't even know you're here."

"I don't care, I'm not leaving her alone. She hates hospitals."

He gave me a sad smile and nodded, then left me alone with her.

I took her hand in mine again, and just sat there silently, watching her.

. . . . . . . . . .

I called Marcus from my car the next morning when I got to the hospital. I actually got into the parking spot in one try this time.

"Edward! Just the man I wanted to talk to," he said cheerfully. "I wanted to get your opinion on-"

"I'm calling about Bella," I forced out. Every day it was just getting harder to speak.

He was quiet for a minute. "You know, I thought the same thing, but it's just not-"

I didn't have the patience to have a polite conversation, all I knew was that I'd be completely useless until she opened her eyes.

"Victor found her, a few days ago."

"What?" He choked out a moment later.

"He shot her. She's in the hospital, they have her sedated to help her body heal right now but… look, I'm not trying to back out of my contract or anything, but I can't work right now. Not while she's… I'm sorry, I just can't."

He was silent for a long time. "Edward, what do you know about her?"

"Everything. We're… together."

He was quiet for a long time, and I think I heard him blow his nose on the other end before he spoke again.

"I understand. I'm still going through the legal process of terminating Miss Stanley's contract right now. Then I need to fill her role, but filming wouldn't start until June, so the weather will be good enough for all the scenes we need to do in London."

"Okay… thanks."

"It's okay," he said quietly. "Look, is there any chance you can put me in contact with Emmett? I understand if you can't but if you could give him my number, I'm sort of an old friend of the family-"

"No, I don't really see the harm in giving you his number anymore. I'll text it to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Victor's dead. Haven't you heard? There are like a million reporters surrounding the hospital."

"No, all I heard was that shots had been fired in front of your building in LA, and that you were seen running towards the scene of the crime. He's dead? What happened?"

Well, fuck.

"I… haven't spoken to the police yet, I don't think I should really get into it but I'll get back to you as soon as I can, and get you Emmett's number."

"Thank you, Edward. That means a lot to me. What hospital is she at? And her room number? I'd like to send her some flowers."

I gave him the information, and we said good-bye after I assured him I'd be in touch soon. I picked up my own flowers that I had brought to brighten up her room, and pulled on my tuque and my big sunglasses, then wrapped up my face in a scarf before making my way in through a side door. Rose and Emmett were already there, Rose picking at a fancy-looking breakfast sandwich. She started crying when she saw me walk in, and Emmett sighed before wrapping an arm around her. I hesitantly set the bouquet of purple roses and lilac branches on the windowsill.

"I'm not sure I want to ask how you are this morning," I said with a weak smile, attempting to lighten up the room a bit.

"We're okay," Emmett said cautiously.

"We're pregnant," Rose said with a sob, and Emmett sighed again before pulling her closer and kissing her hair.

It took me a couple minutes to find some words.

"Well, congratulations."

"I didn't get to tell her-"

"You can tell her when she wakes up," I hissed, not succeeding in stifling my irritation. She was going to wake up, the only reason she wasn't right now was because of the drugs. Once she healed more she'd be off of them, and she'd wake up.

Rose watched me for a long minute, and I didn't break my gaze with her. Bella was going to be fine, and I wasn't going to let anyone even fucking think of saying otherwise.

"You guys are really good for each other," she said randomly, catching me by surprise.

"I know," I said with a small smile, looking back at Bella.

"Did she ever tell you how we met?"

"No," I answered. I never asked after Thanksgiving, because it was obvious she was keeping something for Rose. I could tell by the way they had acted, and if Bella tells someone that she'll keep a secret, she'd take it to the fucking grave.

The thought made me shudder.

"She saved my life," she said quietly. "I owe her everything, every single fucking thing to my name, it's all because of her."

I looked over at her, and she was crying quietly as she watched her sister. Emmett was watching her carefully, his eyes flickering to me as he kept a protective arm around her.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little nervously.

"I wanted to open a club. I had this great business plan, and I just knew it would be awesome, and that I'd be really good at it. So, I asked my parents to loan me the money after I finished University. But they had a condition. They wanted to merge their bank with Mr. King's branch, and his son had expressed some interest in... me." I looked at her disbelievingly, and she let out an irritated huff. "Yeah, they aren't as perfect as they look. Well, they told me that if I accepted his proposal, they'd give me the money. I told them that there was no way in hell I was marrying that asshole, so they said no to the loan. They kept pressuring me, and cut me off. Then kicked me out, trying to get me to cave. I came up here to stay with Alice in the city while I tried to find a job and some investors for my club idea.

"I lost count of how many 'business dinners' I went out on, but no one would take me seriously. One night I was walking back to Alice's old place and… The light in the alley I was passing blew out, and this guy came out of nowhere, and dragged me into the alley where two of his friends were."

My whole body had gone cold as I watched her talk, but she was looking at Bella, and it felt more like she was talking to her than to me. "They were too strong for me. I'm sure they would have killed me, I wanted to die, but Bella just blew in out of nowhere with Zeus. I still remember him standing over me, guarding me while she beat the shit out of all three of those guys. She gave me the shirt off her fucking back. She offered to take me to the hospital, the police, home, or to even fucking kill them for me and make their bodies disappear. But I couldn't go back to Alice's. For the same reason Bella never told her what happened to her. It would have killed her… I told her I had nowhere to go, and I passed out.

"I woke up in her apartment later. I was a wreck, and I didn't know why she was me bothering with me, but she told me I could stay with her as long as I wanted to. She gave me clothes, food, let me use anything in her bathroom that I wanted because she had a cupboard filled with all sorts of different products cause she's a lazy shopper and had bought one of everything in the store I guess," she said with a bit of a laugh, swiping at her face and sniffling. "I was terrified to leave her apartment, even to go outside with Zeus because I was worried the guys would find me. She was careful with me, but didn't baby me at all. She told me that she owned the building, showed me all her security cameras, and how it was damn near impossible for anyone to get up to her floor, let alone past it to the roof.

"I lashed out at her at first when she pushed me, because I didn't think there was any way she could understand what I was going through. Then… she told me what had happened to her when she was little. She stayed with me for weeks in her apartment until I was ready to go outside. She let me stay with her, put me up in the other half of her apartment so that I wouldn't be alone. I had laughed at her when she asked to read my business proposal, she was barely nineteen at the time you know, and she shut me up quickly when she told me I was treating her the way all those investors had treated me. She pointed out a few problems with my plans, recommended some pretty impressive ideas then… she gave me 1.5 million dollars to start up my club. She helped me with every step. She introduced me to Emmett and Jasper. She's had my back, protected me, every single fucking day since that night in the alley. She's always been there for me, _always_. And… I just really wish I had been able to return the favour more. Been the one to protect _her._ She didn't deserve any of this shit, it's just not fucking fair!" She clung to Emmett, sobbing into his shirt as he held her. I really didn't know what to say to that. I went to open my mouth, but Emmett just shook his head sadly, letting me know to just let it go. Really, there was nothing to say. I think she had just needed to talk.

The room was quiet for a long time, the silence only broken by the beeping of Bella's machines and Rosalie's sniffles.

We all turned when someone knocked on the door and then walked inside. I shot to my feet when our eyes met. I had no clue who he was; he had sandy-brown hair, brown eyes, and a stern looking face. He looked about my age, my size, maybe an inch shorter.

We stared at each other for one tense moment.

"Who the hell are you?" I hissed. If he was a fucking reporter, I'd kill him for coming in here.

Emmett stood up, and walked over to shake his hand.

"Edward, this is Alec. Our liaison with the FBI."

"Oh," I said, sitting back down. "Hey."

"Hey," he said back in a curt voice, then walked over and took the one free seat left in the room, next to mine. "So, Emmett, what happened?"

He looked at me. "Edward was with her, he could probably answer that better." I winced, and he gave me a small, apologetic smile.

"Have you spoken to the police yet?"

"No."

"Good, I told them not to harass any of you. They're just supposed to be watching his body, and making sure no one gets close to Bella that shouldn't."

It was weird hearing this stranger use her name so casually, but I was thankful he'd done what he did.

"Thank you."

"So, I want you to tell me everything that happened the day of the incident. Start from the beginning."

I looked at Emmett, and he nodded for me to go ahead.

"Well, she was upset when I got up that morning-"

"What time did you get to her apartment?" He interrupted.

"Er, I had spent the night," I said uncomfortably. I saw his eyes tighten slightly, but he nodded for me to continue. "She was upset about some work she had done with Marcus, so I took her out for the day to try and cheer her up. She had never really played tourist before, so we went all over the place. She wore her blond wig, a brown leather jacket, brown boots, a white knit hat…" I remembered her smiling at me on the skating rink like it happened seconds ago. It had been such a perfect moment. "We went all over the place. Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Rockafeller center. I taught her how to skate, she fucking sucked at it," Emmett chuckled slightly, but it was short-lived. "We had dinner in a small café, and went home." I took in a deep breath, and forced myself to keep going. I was shaking slightly. "She reminded me that we were supposed to go to Emmett's for dinner the next day, so I went to the apartment to grab some different clothes." She'd told me she loved me, and to hurry back. "I left through the garage, because neither of us ever used the front entrance of her building, and walked around the corner. He walked right into me, almost knocked me over but caught me and apologized. I thought he'd looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't place him. He looked so different. I caught a cab, but when I went for my phone it wasn't in my pocket and I sort of panicked and made the cab turn around so I could get it, even though I was almost right fucking there. When I went back she was already gone. I couldn't find my phone, and thought maybe she went to surprise me and bring it anyways. She had wanted to come with me, but we knew it just wasn't safe for her to be around my building when the press were looking for my brown-haired mystery woman. So I went back to the apartment. Traffic was backed up, so I decided to walk the rest of the way since the building was so close. I noticed Bella's car, but she wasn't in it. It was running on the side of the road. Then I heard the first shot, and people screamed, and I started running to my building. Then I heard the second shot. It was hard to get to her, everyone was running in the opposite direction. She was on the ground, sitting almost, leaning against my building. He… He knelt down, and kissed her, and she reached up and… snapped his neck. He fell on her, and then I was there, and I tried to put pressure on her wounds like she'd taught me, and she blacked out just before the ambulance got there. The rest of it is kind of… blurry. I don't really remember much else."

"So she was still conscious when you reached her? Did she say anything?"

The tears escaped my eyes then as I nodded, and he waited for me to speak again. "She said… "You're okay," like she was relieved. And then she told me she loved me, and said she was sorry." I couldn't fucking breathe anymore. I felt like I was going to be sick. I just reached forwards and took her hand again though. Her hand was warm, soft, and the contact calmed me slightly. I could feel her pulse, she was still here with me. She was still alive.

"Anything else?"

"No. She… lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah, I read the EMT's and doctor's reports," he said with a nod. "You know, what you did in those two minutes, and the drive to the hospital, saved her life. She would have bled out otherwise."

"I thought she already had," I told him honestly. I felt like I'd done nothing, I didn't want to hear what he said because it didn't fucking matter.

He talked with Emmett for a long while, but I didn't hear much of it. He said he'd do what he could to handle the press, and the police, and warned us that we weren't to speak to any of them. If any tried to get us to speak, they probably weren't actual cops.

He did have a sliver of good news though. They'd found their mole. When Emmett had called Alec the night of the incident on the way to the hospital, he'd been able to make a controlled leak about Bella. Alec had been waiting for the opportunity to do so, and using a program like the one Bella had built, Alec had been able to catch the mole.

It was Alec's boss, some man named Caius. Turns out the man had gone through school with Victor's father, and was like an uncle to him. After raiding his office, home, hard drives and multiple phone's records, they had enough proof of him aiding and abetting Victor, and abusing his level of power, that's he'd never see light outside of a jail cell again.

They found videos of every single one of Victor's kills, he'd been sending them to him.

And that led to Emmett and I having a conversation about how we still had to be cautious with her identity, because we weren't sure he was her only threat.

He told me how his father had died, something Bella had never been able to talk to me about. I knew that he'd been shot, but it hadn't been on the job like I'd assumed.

It had happened in their home in Washington. The father of the second woman Victor had killed had tracked their family down, and slipped past the agents that watched their town, because they had only been looking for Victor. He had gotten into their house while Bella and her father had been eating dinner, and had tried to kill her. He blamed his daughter's death on the movie, and had tried to shoot her, but Charlie had taken the hit in his chest, protecting her, and Emmett had been able to knock the man out when he came downstairs. That was when their short experience in the government's witness protection had started. The man was sentenced to prison for life, for murder in the first degree, attempted murder, breaking and entering, along with a long list of other charges.

We had to be cautious that none of the others got the same idea, but Emmett told me the chances were slim. Bella's identity had been protected because of her age at the time, so her name was a hard one to find. That man had had his own resources through his position in the police department he had worked in. It was rumours from their old home town that were the biggest threat.

. . . . . . . . . .

I knew that Bella knew a lot of people, I had joked once that she had an extremely impressive talent for networking, but it was a stunning thing to see as her room at the hospital was practically turned into a green house. I had never seen so many flowers in one small room before.

And though some of the names seemed a little familiar, I didn't know any of them. Emmett told me he had made some calls, and it was weird seeing all of Bella's different names on so many different things, all in the same place. The reporters thinned out after a couple weeks, seeming to give up on whatever they were trying to do. They'd ironically been otherwise occupied covering the news of Victor Hunter's death, not knowing the stories were one and the same.

Marcus had come down after he'd talked to Emmett. We didn't talk about work once in the three days he'd been there. We didn't talk much at all, really. He stayed with Emmett and Rosalie at night, and sat silently by Bella's bed during the days, looking on the brink of tears every second as he watched her. I was curious about their relationship, he'd told me he was an old friend of the family's but he really didn't look like he'd be able to handle that conversation so I kept my question to myself.

I got pretty comfortable driving. I went for runs with Zeus every morning, spent the days with Bella, then slept with Zeus curled up next to me on the couch every night. I couldn't sleep on the bed. It was too big without Bella in it. It was kind of weird, because Zeus was bigger than she was, but that's how I felt.

After three weeks, my dad had lowered her dosages, and told us that it was now up to her when she was ready to wake up.

That had been a week ago, and though it scared me more every day, I never lost hope. I sat with her every day, talked to her, sang, played my guitar. But she never moved.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Okay, so, you got a lot of stuff this chapter. Victor is dead. Edward drove a car. Some history of Bella and Emmett's relationship when they were younger. How Bella met Rose and what happened to her (I added that in just for you Ayumi ;)! I thought it worked there.) How Charlie died. Then you got to meet Alec, and hear of the demise of the mole who'd been assisting Victor. Oh yeah, and Rose is pregnant!**

**Hmm, maybe I should have broken this chapter up a little? Oh well.**

**So what did you think? Please leave a review! And thanks for reading :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hellooo awesome people. Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! You guys are too awesome.**

**Song: Good Life - One Republic**

**I don't own the Twilight Characters.**

. . . . . . . . . .

"But they let service animals in hospitals all the time! It's the same fucking thing, he's had more, and _better_ training than any other animal you've ever seen!"

"I'm sorry Edward, I just can't authorize that," my father said sadly. "She'll wake up when she's ready-"

"You've been saying that for fucking _ever_. She needs him dad, you've never seen how they are together, I'm sure that if she just heard him-"

"No, Edward. I'm sorry."

I was expecting his answer, but I was a good fucking actor and I pretended to storm off in a rage, swiping his key card on my way out. He would be leaving any moment, he wouldn't notice it missing tonight. Hopefully.

I jumped into my Volvo and raced back to the apartment. Zeus was jumping around and barking excitedly when I burst through the door, no doubt sensing my energy.

"I don't care what anyone says, she needs you, and I'll get you to her. You ready to go see your mommy Zeus?"

The sound of his whine when I referred to Bella broke my heart.

"I know, I miss her too, which is why we need to do this fast. We've waited long enough."

I fed him, and took him up to the roof before we went down to my car. I tried to get one of those harnesses for him, because I was paranoid of getting into an accident and him getting hurt in my car, but I couldn't find any that fucking fit him. Seriously, the dog was the size of a small pony.

I was getting pretty good at driving though. I actually found it kind of fun.

It was hard to really enjoy anything anymore, but it was up there.

We made our way across town to the hospital, and I told Zeus to wait as I went and pulled around the dining cart I had hidden behind the dumpsters. I rolled it back to my SUV, and tried to get him settled on the bottom of the cart before draping the sheet over it.

It was a shit job, but the best I could come up with at the moment. His tail kept slipping out and thumping against my leg excitedly, and he kept trying to stick his head out to smell his surroundings. I wasn't as good at getting him to follow commands as Bella was. I smiled at the nurses that gave me suspicious glances as I walked past.

Yeah, they didn't like me much, but I didn't like them treating my girlfriend like a fucking pincushion either.

I may have been a bit irritable as of late, but I thought they should cut me some fucking slack, circumstances considered and all.

I thankfully got him into an empty elevator, got off on Bella's floor, and wheeled my cart down the dim hallway quietly to the secured wing she was in. I stopped at the heavy doors, peeking through the window down the hall to watch the nurse's station, then took out my phone.

I called the number for the phone that I'd left in a linen closet earlier, whose ringer I'd set to a loud Tool song. I watched the nurse shoot down the hallway and turn the corner, chasing after the sound. I moved quickly, using my stolen key-card to get into the locked wing, and booked it down to Bella's room.

I got in unnoticed, and quickly shut the door behind me, gasping for breath.

Bella was going to be so fucking proud of me for that.

I flipped back the sheet. "Okay boy, come on out," I whispered, holding the cart steady as he wiggled out of it. He immediately started sniffing, whining as he no doubt smelt his mommy and quickly made his way to her bed. I watched him cautiously, making sure he didn't jump up, but he just lifted his paws onto the edge of her bed, laying his head down as he watched her, his tail thumping against the linoleum.

He started whining, wiggling slightly as he watched her. Waiting.

She didn't move.

I sat down next to him, and started silently crying. I hadn't realized how much I had been counting on this working, that if she just had Zeus next to her she would just… wake up.

Zeus whimpered again, louder, wiggling forward, and started licking her hand.

And her finger twitched.

Her finger fucking moved.

"B-Bella?" I asked hesitantly. It was easier to talk when I had Zeus next to me. He was the only person I ever felt like talking to anymore.

He barked excitedly.

"Shhh, boy, you need to be quiet," I warned in a panicked voice. I couldn't even look at the door though. There were tears escaping the corners of Bella's eyes.

I started to panic. I didn't think this through enough. I would freak out if I woke up and there was a fucking tube going down my throat.

I knew I was going to get in shit, but it didn't fucking matter. She made a sound somewhere between a cough, choking noise and sob, her eyebrows furrowing.

I hit the call nurse button, and she burst into the room only seconds later to her credit.

"Good heavens! How did you get- oh my god, what is that thing?"

"Are you blind? He's a dog. That doesn't fucking matter, she's waking up, do something!"

She only hesitated for a moment before rushing forward, calling the doctor as she started removing the tube that it sounded like Bella was choking on. She had started twitching.

"Hold down her arms, gently, make sure she doesn't try to get up or move too quickly. I'll be right back with the doctor." I nodded, doing what she said as she disappeared. Bella's entire body shuddered, and she whimpered.

"Shh, baby, I'm right here. You're okay, I promise, just calm down. Try to stay still."

She seemed to listen, relaxing under my gentle hold with another whimpering sound. The nurse ran in with another doctor. I didn't care for him, he seemed too young, and was much too good looking. I watched him warily.

"Miss Tanner? My name is Doctor Gerandy, if you can hear me, I want you to try and move your hand, lift a finger if you can."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she lifted her finger all right. The middle one. I barked out a laugh, and pulled out my phone to call my dad.

"Edward, if this is about-"

"I was right."

"What?"

"She's awake, kind of. Get down here. She just gave Doctor McSteamy the finger."

Bella let out a pained cough, and I think my dad heard it, because he told me he'd be right there in an excited, slightly-panicked voice before hanging up. Her machines were slowly picking up in their beepings, and the doctor stared saying something about sedating her so that she wouldn't panic. He took a step away when I pierced him with a glare.

"Don't," I said, knowing Bella could hear us. Those words probably freaked the shit out of her. I sat down carefully on the edge of her bed, taking her hand in mine and using my other hand to cup her cheek.

"Baby, I need you to try and calm down. You're alright, I promise you. I won't leave you for a second."

I felt a slight pressure in my hand, like she was trying to squeeze it. Her grip was almost non-existent though.

"We don't know if she can understand-"

"She heard me. She squeezed my hand. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want you to fucking touch her."

I grinned when I felt that small pressure again.

"Looks like I'm right," I said with a grin. "My father will be here in a couple minutes, is there anything you need to do this minute?"

Her heartrate was slowly calming down, she seemed to be relaxing slightly.

The doctor let out an irritated sigh, then crossed his arms over his chest while he leaned against the wall, watching us closely. I turned back to Bella.

"You're doing great baby. Everything's going to be okay," I said quietly, feeling truth in the words for the first time. I hated that it wasn't even safe to say her name to her right now though. "I love you so much," I told her, leaning in and kissing her forehead.

It took her a few minutes, but she managed to open her eyes. I cracked right then, seeing those eyes for the first time in over a month. My favourite fucking eyes in the universe. She looked at me, her eyes a little clouded and dazed, but I knew she was still on a lot of painkillers.

"I missed you so fucking much," I whispered.

Her lips parted. _"Ed-"_ she choked out in barely a whisper, wincing and closing her eyes again.

"Shh, don't try to talk right now. We'll have plenty of time to talk later, okay?" She looked back up at me, and her eyes looked so fucking sad. "Shh, none of that," I said, and couldn't wait another second before I leaned in and gently kissed her lips.

My father came in then, and the biggest smile spread over his face when he saw her with her eyes open. I realized then that I didn't remember the last time he had smiled. That anyone had, really. It was like the world had just sort of stopped when her eyes had closed. I could tell that she tried to smile at him, but she looked exhausted, ready to fall asleep again, and kept shooting suspicious glares at the other doctor in the corner.

"Well kiddo, I can't tell you how good it is to see your smile," my father said gently. "They just removed a feeding tube, so your throat is going to be sore for a little while. It should be better in a day or so. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

"_I feel like I was fucking shot,"_ she hissed, cringing.

My father chuckled. "And for good reason," my father said with a slight grin. "Please don't talk anymore for now though, okay?" She nodded slightly. "I'm going to up your dose of morphine to help you get some rest, is that alright?"

She nodded again slightly, then looked up at me again, her eyes watering.

"_I love you,"_ she mouthed silently. I smiled at her, barely able to breathe against the pressure in my chest.

"I love you too. Get some rest. I'll call Emmett and let him know you're okay."

She gave me a small, thankful smile, and we just watched each other as she slowly drifted off to sleep again.

"You stole my key card, didn't you?"

"Yup." And I didn't feel guilty in the slightest.

"And you brought that dog in here, even when I specifically told you not too."

"Mhmm."

"I should probably yell at you."

"But you're not going to."

"You're right. Good work son," he said proudly, squeezing my shoulder before he went back to checking her charts. I called Emmett with one hand, not able to let go of Bella's with my other.

I couldn't stop fucking smiling.

"Hey man, what's up?" He answered in a tired voice.

"She woke up Emmett," I said, still kind of in shock.

"What? When? How do you know? Why didn't they call me first?" He demanded.

"I, umm… kind of stole my dad's key card, and broke into the hospital with Zeus."

"You didn't."

"It worked. Dad gave her more morphine to help her get some rest, but she opened her eyes and everything. She's asleep again now. I told her I'd call you right away though. And I'm sorry that I didn't the second that she woke up, but-"

"No, no… I get it. Thank you Edward. I fucking love you man. Thank you for doing that."

"It was nothing. Look, I won't let them kick me out just in case, but you know how bitchy these nurses can get..."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Fuck, you're right, they probably won't let me in. Look, I'll be there first thing in the morning. Can you just-"

"I'll call you the second anything happens, I swear."

"Thanks man, just… thanks."

"Get some sleep Emmett."

. . . . . . . . . .

I tried to keep my eyes open, but Zeus was like a space heater leaning against me, and feeling Bella's soft hand in mine, and finally relaxing for the first time in what felt like eons, I just couldn't keep them open. I drifted off to sleep with my head resting on her thigh.

. . .

I almost thought I was dreaming, feeling her gentle fingers combing through my hair, but when I looked up at her sleepily, her eyes were open, and she smiled at me.

"You didn't have to stay," she said in a hoarse whisper. I grinned up at her, rubbing my eyes and stretching.

"I didn't want you to be alone if you woke up again." I looked down at my watch, it was just past five. "How are you feeling? Your throat sounds better," I said cheerfully.

She gave me a small smile, her eyes watering. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit. You're about to cry, so you're definitely not." I grinned at her, and I think she almost laughed, but pulled in a sharp, painful breath. "Shit, I'm sorry, are you okay? Should I call a nurse?"

"No," she hissed, though her eyes had watered and spilled over. "Fuck, I can't believe that fucker shot me," she groaned. I had no idea what to do, and my hands just fluttered around her uselessly. Once her breathing calmed, and she was able to open her eyes again, she gave me an apologetic smile. "I've never been shot before. That's one for the books."

My laugh came out as more of a sob, it was just too fucking surreal to see her here, awake, talking to me, and making an incredibly bad joke. Her hand moved into my hair again, and I buried my face in her sheets as tears of relief escaped my eyes.

"I thought I lost you."

"I'm so sorry Edward."

"You can never do anything like this to me again, okay?" I choked out.

"I promise," she whispered. When I looked up at her again, she was crying too.

"You knew he was here, didn't you?" I whispered. She heard me, and after a moment, she nodded her head once. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because we would have left, and he still could have gotten you. I couldn't-" It looked like it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. I wanted answers, but I couldn't do that to her right now. It could wait, I just needed her to be okay.

"Shhh, stop Bella. Please calm down. We can talk about this later, it doesn't matter right now."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, and I held her gently as she cried, carefully minding her wires. I could tell it was very painful for her, and did everything I could to calm her before the doctors tried to sedate her. I told her I loved her a thousand times, covering her face and hands in soft kisses, told her how much we missed her, that I forgave her as long as she swore she'd never keep something from me ever again. I got her to drink a bit of water, because dad said it was okay. By the time Emmett came in, she was shaking in pain and exhausted once more, but she was able to assure him that she was okay and tell him she loved him before the morphine knocked her out again.

. . . . . . . . . .

After getting Zeus back home and fed, I showered and got changed before stopping to pick up some more flowers for Bella. I had taken pictures of everything people had sent her so I could show her when she woke up, but most of them had died off and been cleared out already. The ones I had gotten her for Valentine's day had already died too. I also picked up a strawberry-banana smoothie with my coffee, just in case she was up for it.

I wasn't surprised to see that the gang was already there, what did surprise me was that they were all sitting out in the hallway.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously, pausing in the hall and looking at them. "Is she asleep?"

"No, she's up," Emmett said. "She's talking with Alec right now."

"She shouldn't-"

"I know. But she's a grown woman, and she said she wanted to get it out of the way now so there's nothing-"

Her door was thrown open loudly with a bang as the man I had talked to a few weeks ago stormed out. He looked around, and when his eyes met mine I was pretty sure he was about to fucking lunge at me. He actually took a step towards me, his fists clenched, but he stopped, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath before he gave me one more glare and stormed off.

"Alec! Wait up," Emmett called, chasing him around the corner. I didn't care, I sprinted into Bella's room to make sure she was okay. Her bed was propped up, and she was in frantic fucking tears.

"_I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry,"_ she kept gasping though her painful attempt at breathing. I was immediately at her side, trying to calm her down, sooth her before the orderlies came running in.

"Shh, baby, it's okay," I told her, brushing back her hair, kissing her forehead, but I just seemed to make it worse.

**"**_No,"_ she said vehemently, almost a cry, surprising me with the strength of the word. "It's _not_… he was right there, he _touched_ you, he could have-" her cry was so fucking painful I couldn't think. "I was _right there,_and I still couldn't protect you from him… It was the only way, there was no other way Edward, but I-"

The nurses broke into the room, telling me to move away, but Bella pushed into me in her desperate attempt to get away from them. She screamed from the movement but stifled the sound with her own hand. "N-no! I'm f-fine, _p-please_," she sobbed. "I don't want to go back to sleep,_please_ don't make me go back to sleep!"

But I knew Bella better then I knew anyone in the world, and she was hurting herself. She was beyond being capable of calming herself down now. No matter what I told her.

I slowly, gently eased her back on the bed, and her big, brown, watering eyes felt like they were ripping my soul in half. I leaned in and kissed her forehead, easing her hands off of my shirt.

The nurse took one of her arms as I kissed her gently, cupping her face in my hands, but as she felt the strange hand's touch she whimpered against my lips.

"If you say it was the only way, then I believe you," I whispered truthfully. "I love you baby, and I'll be right here when you wake up."

She was out before I finished my words, and I leaned back to look at her relaxed, tear-streaked face sadly before I felt my father's hand on her shoulder.

"I need to take a look at her son, she could have… You should wait outside."

I was going to say _hell no_, but I realized I had something I needed to take care of right fucking now.

I kissed her gently once more on the forehead before getting up and leaving the room without a word.

Neither of them were there, so I walked in the direction they'd left in without a word to Rose, Jasper or Alice. As I entered the stairwell at the end of the hallway, I heard their voices and I went down the two floors quickly.

"How can you fucking say that Emmett? She could have-" Alec turned to look at me, his expression turning murderous. "You-"

I interrupted him with a fist to his jaw, grabbing the collar of his jacket as he went back and pulling him towards me and hitting him again. _"What the fuck did you say to her?"_ I demanded.

I ducked from his fist in time, but he was able to twist my arms to lose their grasps as he threw me against the wall, but I just threw my head forward and broke his nose before pinning him to the ground. "What did you say to her? Do you have any idea what you may have done? They had to sedate her because she couldn't calm down and could have fucking hurt herself more _you piece of fucking shit!"_

Emmett pulled me off of him, but I was temporarily satisfied with the damage I had done. I needed his answer before I killed him.

"I told her the truth," he hissed, and I tried to lunge, but Emmett's hold was too solid.

"Emmett-" I started, but he cut me off.

"_Answer the fucking question,"_ Emmett growled.

That was the first time I ever saw the FBI agent's composure falter.

"I… told her what had happened. He used _this_ guy's phone to lure her," he said with a nod at us.

Emmett let me go, but I spoke first. "Let me get this straight. You told an injured, fragile and likely traumatized girl about a classified, private debriefing to fucking _chastise_ her for her actions less than a day after she just woke up _from being in a coma for over a month_?" My words went from angry to an almost incomprehensible growl.

Emmett and I stepped forward at the same time. We saw all the confirmation we needed in his eyes as he stood up.

"Be smart Emmett, we have a lot of shit that still needs to be dealt with," Alec warned, and Emmett tensed. I waited for his lead, because really, I had no idea if that was true, and if Bella's safety was concerned…

"Then you better leave before I stop giving a shit. I'm pretty fucking close."

He shot us both a look, then took the stairs down and went out of sight. We were both silent for a minute.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know… my dad told me I needed to leave so he could look over her. So I came here."

Emmett let out a deep, shaking breath before I led the way back upstairs. We didn't need to say it aloud, we both just needed to make sure she was okay. Dad was opening her door just as we reached it, and waved us back inside after the two nurses left. He spoke as soon as he closed the door.

"She doesn't seem to have caused too much damage. I was worried she might have torn some of her internal stitches, or re-broken that rib, but there doesn't seem to be any signs of either. I'll monitor her carefully over the next few hours just to be on the safe side. She _can't_ move like that again though," he warned in a way that made me uneasy.

"We dealt with the issue, but I'm worried she'll get worked up when she wakes up again. I just need to be able to talk to her long enough to calm her down before that happens."

"She'll be very groggy when she wakes up from this, but that won't be for a while. I'll be back soon to check on her again," he let us know, and when we didn't have any more questions for him he left. Emmett and I took seats on either side of her bed.

"What happened?" Emmett asked.

"I came in when you guys left, and she was sitting up, sobbing, clutching at her stomach. She kept saying she was sorry. I guess he had told her that Victor had bumped into me and took my phone just next to her building, so that's probably why she was saying something about being right there and not being able to protect me… she told me that 'there was no other way' or something." I let out a shaking breath, remembering her whimpering as I'd kissed her.

She probably felt so betrayed…

"She really thought there wasn't," Emmett said quietly, and I looked up at him.

"No other way to what?" I asked, confused. He knew what she was talking about?

"She thought there was no other way to… handle the situation, why she didn't tell anyone what was happening. Alec told me her own account of the past couple months."

"_Months?"_ I gasped. Emmett nodded his head. "She was dealing with him alone for…" Oh, god, I knew she had known he was in New York but… fuck.

A lot of little things finally made sense. I needed to know though, and I couldn't ask Bella. Not if it would hurt her. She'd forgive me for this. "What happened?"

He was silent for a few long moments before he got up, locked the door, and sat back down.

"Do you remember the night you sent that e-mail to your lawyer about her?" He asked, and I nodded. I'd never forget that night, it would be impossible for anyone to forget a night like that. "When Bella first started to hang out with Alice, she put tracker programs into each of your e-mail accounts. It's a pretty standard thing she does for anyone she knows in some way. She doesn't usually just watch someone, it's just this thing that looks for keywords, things that would show if someone was talking about her. It's really fucking impressive actually, and it works along with her internet scrolling system, you know her big computer screen that searches the internet for articles of things that could be possible descriptions of Victor? She built that system when she was nineteen, you know," he said proudly. "So, when you sent that e-mail, it sent her an alert practically instantly, and she destroyed the evidence of it before anyone even had a chance to blink."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked, trying really hard not to lose my patience.

"Well, she got another alert from your e-mail account, the day after Thanksgiving."

"I never mentioned anything to do with her in an e-mail, text, or _anything_ after I found out," I said certainly. I was always pretty damn careful about it.

"No. Victor sent you the e-mail," he said, watching me warily with concerned eyes. "He sent you a picture of an article in a magazine, of you at your casting party back in October? She was in the corner of the shot. He's been sending you e-mails every few days for almost two months."

"But, I never got…" Sudden understanding came to me. She'd gotten the e-mails, and destroyed them before I ever got the chance to read them.

"Why?" I voiced out loud. Why couldn't she have just told me? Or Emmett? Or-

But she had already told me, this morning when I woke up to find her awake. I was just too grateful that she was awake to think much about it at the time. A previous conversation with her came instantly to mind. When she'd pulled away from her jobs, I'd asked her what would happen if Victor found out she was in New York.

'_Emmett would move us. We'd disappear, and start over from scratch somewhere else.'_

"Because it was her only chance to try to protect _all_ of us. Bella never made friends before we came to New York you know, not after Angela." I had no clue who Angela was, but he didn't give me a chance to ask. "Jasper, well, you've met him. It's hard not to just immediately see that he was a good guy, but she was wary." Emmett grinned. "I told her that it would make her look more suspicious at work if she didn't interact, but if she made even _one_ work friend, it would help her blend in more. So, she chose Jasper. Things didn't really make any progress until she met Rose though, a few months later. She was the first real… well, the first person she ever really let in, spoke about any of our situation to. She never wanted real friends, she just saw it as selfish, no matter what I told her. Friends were just leverage that could be used against her in her opinion. But Rose changed that, and then stuff with Jasper got better. And then, almost two years later, you and your sister just came in out of nowhere and changed everything.

"Well, when Victor sent that e-mail, she knew that he had leverage. Too much. Our protocol, at the first sign of exposure, is always to leave. It always had been, and we kept the protocol when we ditched the witness protection.

"She told Alec that she couldn't tell me because she knew that I'd move her. We would have taken Rose, but taking Jasper, Alice, or… you, wasn't possible. She said she couldn't tell Alec or Rose for the same reason. She couldn't tell anyone, because something would slip, and if it got back to him, he could have done something drastic, or that it would get back to me and I'd force her to leave, and then the three of you would have been left exposed."

"But she could have-"

"Have what, Edward?" He asked sadly. "Leave you in the hands of the police? The FBI? Do you think Bella could ever leave the fate of someone she loves in something that's never been able to protect her? I'm not saying I approve of what she chose, because the fucker fucking shot her, but I understand it."

"She thought she could protect all of us on her own better?"

"Well, she probably did, honestly."

"What?"

The corner of his mouth twitched up. "Well… she kind of hired some new employees. She had a hit man and a private investigator hired to watch each of us separately it seems. She had extra security put in your building, and watched you herself with the help of a friend she trusted not to turn on her and let anything slip to the press. All they apparently knew was that Victor Hunter had a possible interest in each of us, that the target was legal to kill on sight, and that money would be deposited in their accounts every day that we remained unscathed."

"Shit."

I was impressed, but after hearing it, not entirely surprised. We were talking about Bella after all.

That must have been fucking expensive though.

I couldn't even smile at my own joke, because the biggest pain was still there in my chest, growing by the second.

She had known Victor was close to her for almost two months, and had dealt with it in silence on her own. All to try to protect us.

Even though she knew that all of it was for him to get to her. Because that's the only way this could have ended. All he wanted was her, to hurt her, and mostly likely kill her. And she had likely waited for him for two weeks when everyone she loved was safe and out of state, waiting for him to take a shot, for her own chance to take a shot of her own. To protect us, even though she knew she'd probably die doing so. All by her fucking self.

And because he'd recognized her in a picture with me. That night was the first night I kissed Bella, the night she told me she would be mine. I staked a claim, tied her to me with those words, and then tied her to this fate.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asked, pulling me out of my dark thoughts slightly.

"No," I answered honestly. I didn't think I could ever forgive myself for this. How could I not have known? She pulled out of her jobs, she shut down her computer system, all of the texts, the odd behaviour, she put extra security in my building, she wasn't sleeping…

How could I not have put it together?

"What are you going to do?" He asked warily. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to break up with her or something?"

"What?" I gasped, then glared at him. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You said you weren't okay with this, I just assumed-"

"Well don't, because you're fucking wrong. I'm not okay because if I had backed off at the beginning, when she fucking _wanted_me too, then she wouldn't be lying in a fucking hospital bed right now!" I was practically shouting, and my vision blurred from the moisture in my eyes.

I was surprised as fuck when Emmett got up from his chair, walked around to me and fucking hugged me. _Tight._

"This is not your fault Edward."

"But-"

"It's _not_."

My hands clenched into fists as I shut my eyes tightly, shuddering.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to my sister. She had stopped living a long time ago, you changed that, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for giving me my real little sister back again. There is only one person at fault, and now he's dead."

I felt myself relax slightly as he continued to threaten to break my ribs, and eventually hugged him back. He patted my back, hard enough to knock the air out of me, and chuckled. We both went back to just watching her quietly.

"I had to hold her down for the nurses to… she begged them not to do it. I didn't want to, but I felt like I had to. She was hurting herself," I admitted to him. He nodded.

"You did the right thing. I'm sure it was hard though."

"I tried to tell her before she was out that if she believed it was the only way, then I believed her." I let out a heavy breath. "That hasn't changed."

. . . . . . . . . .

Things weren't the same anymore. Of course I knew they wouldn't be, but whenever I had thought about Victor being removed from the picture I had always thought the effect on us would be, you know… positive.

It had been about a week since Bella had woken up. She hadn't taken it well when I told her that I knew everything that had happened, and that I really did forgive her.

She had asked how long she'd been out, and when I told her, the nurses had to sedate her again.

I wouldn't say that I didn't think she believed me, because I'm sure she did. It was more like she didn't _want_ my forgiveness.

But she still told me that she loved me every time that she saw me, and I could see in her big brown eyes that she still meant it. But she was quiet most of the time, withdrawn, especially if others were around. She only really talked if she was alone with me. She was distant, but I blamed some of that on the painkillers she was on.

Emmett used the word withdrawn, I thought depressed was a more fitting description.

I got there first thing in the morning as usual, hoping I'd get a genuine smile with my plans for the day. I froze when I walked into the room, and she wasn't in her bed. She wasn't supposed to have any tests done today.

"Baby?" I called, slightly panicked.

"Edward?"

"Where are you?"

"Just a sec," she called back, and I saw that the door to the bathroom was closed. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration, praying to god that she hadn't gotten out of her bed by herself.

But sure enough, she opened the door, and was standing alone. I sprinted over to her side in a panic, and helped her walk back over to her bed before I leveled her with a scowl.

"You know you're not supposed to be up on your own," I forced out in a strained voice.

"I know, I'm sorry but I called and no one came so-"

"What? Those fucking…. I'll go have a word with-"

"No! Please Edward? I was fine, it was nice doing something without having my fucking hand held," she said, eyes starting to water. I let out a sigh.

"Okay," I said, setting her down on her now-purple bed. "Alice?"

"She didn't approve of the material of the hospital's sheets," she said quietly.

"Is it comfier?"

She nodded, giving me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. I leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss, and when I pulled back her smile looked a little more genuine. "How's Zeus? How was your night?"

She asked the same thing every morning when I came in, but I didn't mind. I couldn't wait to get her out of here, this place just wasn't good for her. "It was quiet, and he's being well-behaved. How are you feeling this morning?"

I waited for her usual response of "fine," but I got something different today.

"Gross."

"Huh?"

"I feel disgusting, I want to take a shower," her eyes started watering again, and I fucking beamed at her. It was the first time she had actually voiced wanting something. I saw that as some fucking improvement.

I knew Bella wouldn't let any of the nurses help her with something like that, and she was barely talking to Rose or my sister. "Would you like some help?" Her face flushed, and I gave her a cocky grin. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Swan."

She fucking giggled, and the sound was music to my ears even though she winced in pain. I helped her back up, and just picked her up carefully and carried her over. I didn't want her standing too long. I set her down, and wasn't too sure how to proceed. Bella instructed me on how to lock the bench in the shower though, and I got the water to the right temperature and set up her things for her before I helped her get undressed and onto her bench. Her wounds were healing really well, her stitches were out and she wasn't wrapped in bandages or anything, but it was obvious to me that she'd lost a decent amount of weight. That really fucking bothered me, but I didn't say anything. She was eating a bit more each day, we'd get her weight back up.

I sat on the floor next to the shower just in case something happened. I'd be dammed if she slipped on my watch.

"Thank you for bringing my shower stuff, their soap is disgusting," she said, sounding genuinely cheery over the sound of the water.

"Not a problem babe," I said with a smile, leaning my head back against the wall. "I have some clothes for you too. Some comfy shirts and pyjama pants if you'd prefer them over the gowns."

"Really?"

"Yup. Your fuzzy purple pants too."

"That sounds amazing," she said dreamily. "This water feels so good, I don't think I want to get out."

I laughed. "Take as much time as you want."

"The nurses are going to be pissed."

"They're always pissed, nothing new there," I laughed.

She sighed a little while later.

"All finished?"

"Yeah."

I got back up, and shut off the shower before handing her a towel and going out to grab her clothes. I helped her get up and dressed, and then carried her back over to her bed because she was shaking again. Emmett was sitting in the room with coffee for me and a smoothie for his sister.

"Morning Emmett," I said cheerfully.

"Hey guys," he said back happily.

"Hey Em," Bella said quietly, and Emmett smiled.

"You're looking good today." He was fucking beaming as I set her back down on her bed carefully, and handed her cup to her once she was settled.

"Thanks." She looked like she was going to slip into her quiet mode again, and I quickly lifted up the bag I had brought. I set it down on the bed next to her, and she looked up at me curiously.

"It's a gift. Open it."

She looked at the bag, a twinge of sadness in her eyes. She pulled out some papers, then pulled out the box. She looked at it curiously, then her eyes went wide before she looked up at me.

"I thought they were neat," I said with a shrug, and she grinned and tried to shift over on the bed and winced. "Hey," I soothed, and she shook her head as she took in a shaking breath. I walked around to the other side of the bed, and slid her over myself with a grin before walking back around and sitting up next to her on her bed. I helped her start opening the boxes.

"Don't leave me hanging guys, what is it?"

I waited a moment for Bella to say something, but she was still quiet, so I answered him.

"It's one of those touch-screen computers, with the removable keyboards? Kind of like a tablet, but they can do more."

"It's even lighter than my tablet is, but it's bigger," she said quietly, and Emmett beamed again.

"Er, about that," I said with a grin. She looked up at me curiously. "I was watching Marley and Me on your tablet the other day… It kind of freaked Zeus out when the thing started barking, and he grabbed it off the couch. His teeth broke right through the screen, but I got it away from him before he could hurt himself.

She laughed again, and though it didn't last long, it made both me and her brother smile. We spent the morning setting the thing up, and after Emmett left we put on a movie, and she fell asleep in my arms.

It was something I'd missed terribly, and I savoured every second of it.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Her head spun around when I walked into the room and she let out a sigh of relief.

"You surprised me," she said, eyes darting around. I looked at her carefully. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and sitting up on the edge of her bed. She was also as pale as a ghost, and looked about ready to pass out.

"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"I need to get out of here."

I sighed. Emmett had warned me about this, and to be honest, I was surprised she had lasted this long.

"Sorry Bella, I can't let you do that."

Her devastated expression broke my heart and almost made me cave, but I needed to do what was best for her, even if it wasn't what she wanted.

"Please Edward, I can't stay in here, I'm going crazy." Her eyes started to water.

"No Bella. This is for your own good. You'll get out soon, you'll just make it harder on yourself, possibly hurt yourself more if you left now, and they'll just drag you back here."

"We could run away, get a boat, sail to the Caribbean. They'd never find us," she said hopefully, pleading with her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Her tears spilled over and she turned away from me before slowly lying back down on her side and shivering. I let out a soft sigh before walking over and draping her blanket over her. I ignored her flinch when I touched her, though it felt like a knife in my gut. She didn't say anything else, her eyes were closed though I knew she was awake from her steady stream of tears. I sat down in my chair and quietly picked up my book, knowing that if I tried to give her some space right now she'd probably try to make a run for it.

. . . . . . . . . .

She didn't speak to anyone, including me, for two days. She didn't try to run either though, to her credit. She just sat there quietly, looking so completely lost. Sometimes, it was like she just wasn't really _there_.

Her wait was finally over now though. Dad came in with Emmett, who was pushing a wheelchair. She looked at them skeptically.

"How is my favourite patient feeling today?" My dad asked cheerfully. She just looked at him, but he wasn't put off by her silence. "Hmm, maybe after a day out of here you'll have something more interesting that you feel is worth talking about?"

She closed her eyes for a long moment.

"Now, I don't want you lifting anything or moving around too much. Take it easy, try not to bend your torso. I don't want you on your own. Emmett and I have gone over your rehabilitation thoroughly, but I want you to come back in in a few days, alright?" I was kind of impressed when she nodded. "Good! Now, you ready to get out of here?"

Another nod.

She let me help her into her chair, and I folded her blanket neatly and draped it over her lap before throwing her bag over my shoulder. Dad stopped her in the doorway, and pulled the thumb drive with her medical records out of his pocket and handed it to her. She pulled in a sharp breath, and looked up at him in… fear? She looked panicked.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," he said quietly, and she quickly took the drive, clutching it tightly in her hand and looking down at her lap with watery eyes. "I added your new files and destroyed the hospital's records of you. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Thank you," she whispered shakily, and he gave her a sad smile before leaving. Emmett walked out with us.

"We'll meet you back at the apartment?" Emmett asked as I wheeled her up to my Volvo and put her stuff in the back seat. She looked between us, confused.

"Sounds good," I said easily. I helped Bella into the passenger's seat, and Emmett took the wheelchair back inside for us. Bella's eyes followed me incredulously as I walked around and started up the SUV. "I know, weird right? I got sick of waiting on other people to drive me around though. I'm actually a pretty good driver, don't worry," I told her with a wink. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she looked back out the window. It was pretty chilly so I turned on the seat warmers and cranked up the heat, and then carefully, and silently, made the way back to the apartment.

. . .

I helped her out of the car, keeping a hand on her lower back cautiously as we walked to the elevator. She stumbled slightly when the elevator lifted, and clutched onto my shirt when she fell into me. She looked nervous when she looked up at me, but when I gave her a cocky grin and just wrapped my arm around her she actually fucking smiled, and bit onto her bottom lip.

I tightened my hold on her, and she didn't let go of my shirt.

I unlocked the door when we got up, and had to grab onto Zeus so he didn't tackle her to the ground. She went down on her own, sliding down against the wall with a sob, and when I let him go he dashed to her side. She held onto him tightly, crying into his fur.

I closed the door, and put her things down before sitting down in the foyer with them and sliding off Bella's shoes.

I sent the others a text, asking them to wait for a while, because I thought she really needed this. I just sat there with them, maybe for twenty minutes, before she finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, and I wasn't sure who she was talking to. But she looked up at me after a minute, and the look on her face tore me apart. I slid over next to her, and wrapped my arms around her.

"Shhh. It's okay Bella. I just wish I knew how to help you."

"I d-don't know what to d-do anymore," she cried into my shirt. I didn't want her sitting on the floor anymore, so I carefully picked her up and carried her over to the couch, sitting down with her in my lap. She clung to my shirt.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I did... everything my fucking life seemed to revolve around before was either hiding from him, or looking for him. What do I do now?"

I smiled sadly. "Anything and everything you want. You can go anywhere, do anything, use your own name or whatever name you feel like." I took a deep breath before saying the words that scared the living hell out of me, because so much had fucking changed.

My mind hadn't though, but I didn't feel like we were in a strong enough place, that _she_ was in an strong enough place, for me to tell her just how much I still wanted this.

"And if you still want me to, I'll stay with you and help you the entire way while you try to figure it out."

She froze in my arms, and I closed my eyes tightly to stop my tears. I wouldn't let her feel guilty about this. She had options now, a whole fucking world of them, and she deserved better than to have me hold her back from them. She actually had the opportunity to live a normal, peaceful life now if she chose to.

That wouldn't be the case if she stayed with me.

"Is that what you want?" She asked quietly.

"Only if it's what you want."

Another sob caught in her throat, and she clung to me tightly, almost desperately.

"It's the only thing I want. I love you so much Edward, I'm sorry that I haven't shown it well this past while, but I mean it. I'm so s-sorry."

"Shh," I whispered with a smile, feeling like I was fucking flying. "It's okay. I love you too baby, and I'm not going anywhere." I kissed her hair, her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and then looked into her beautiful brown eyes, the most beautiful eyes in the world, before I kissed her very softly on the lips.

Then I made her take some of her painkillers, and held her until she fell asleep before tucking her into her bed.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Bah, there you go. Bella is awake and home, though she's dealing with a lot of shit in her head right now. Of course she's awake! You knew she'd wake up. She'd been through too much for me to just kill her off now.**

**Anyone else think that Alec is a douche?**

**How do you think Bella is going to feel when Rose tells her she's pregnant? What's going to happen now? This was about the area I had originally planned to end the story, but I decided I didn't want to leave so many loose ends. **

**Take care guys, and please leave a review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Pretty sure I've already mentioned this, a lot, but I don't own Twilight. I just enjoy playing with the characters.**

**Song - Prayer in C - Lilly Wood &amp; The Prick and Robin Schulz**

. . . . . . . . . .

Things were getting a little better each day. Bella was getting a little better each day.

She was starting to talk a little more.

Emmett wanted to force her to see a therapist. I got it, but I didn't agree with him. We couldn't_force_ her to do anything, and to try I thought would be counter-productive. She probably wouldn't talk to whoever we dragged her to anyways, and end up just shutting down more. I didn't want to let that happen.

I still thought she was depressed, but I thought now it was mostly because of an identity crisis and shock. I told them that I thought she'd get better as she finished healing and moved ahead with her rehab. I knew that for her, accepting all of this help now, and coming to terms with the fact that she _needed_ it, was really fucking hard for her.

And I was shocked as shit when they actually heeded my fucking advice and listened to me. I just found it difficult to understand how they didn't… understand. Because I got it. I'd spent so much time with Bella before all this, and I got where she was coming from. If I had to choose only one word to describe her, it would have to be a protector. I don't think she even realized it sometimes, and despite that confident and fierce aura she constantly emitted, everything in her being was geared towards some higher goal of protecting someone else. Especially those she loved, but not slightly limited to. It was just her nature.

But her reason for that was gone now. She just didn't know what to do with herself, and there wasn't much she could do about it with her condition. I agreed that she needed to talk to a professional, but I knew she wasn't ready for it yet.

The biggest issue now, aside from her quiet demeanor, was her frustration and guilt. She'd never been good at accepting help from others, but I'd always been pretty good at dealing with in irate Bella. Really, she was much better with me now than she had been when I'd first met her and was just trying to get in her pants.

She was used to a very active lifestyle though, and not being able to walk Zeus, go to the gym, or even cook at the moment was driving her insane. Movies only kept her entertained for so long.

Which wasn't long at all.

I got her a couple video games based off of that zombie show she liked. She liked those, but she'd get too excited playing it and kept hurting herself.

After a week of take-out and easily-assembled salads, and one dinner with each my parents and her brother and Rose, she seemed to be losing her appetite again.

And I couldn't cook for shit. I tried, and almost burnt down her apartment. She was extremely uncomfortable around my parents at the moment though, mom was practically in tears every time she looked at her, and she hadn't even been able to look my father in the eyes since he gave her that thumb drive back.

I didn't really want to invite Rose over to attempt to help, because even though Bella always made sure to always smile at her, since that dinner and finding out about her pregnancy… god, that night had broken my heart. She was all smiles and happy congratulations while they were here, but as soon as they stepped out the door… she just broke. I don't think I'd ever seen her cry that much, that painfully. She didn't say a word, but I got it. I hadn't thought much about it since our conversation, but I think that she really did want children, and the fact that she couldn't made it extremely painful to watch her best friend and sister-in-law do something that she couldn't.

She was at her best mentally when it was just the two of us and Zeus, and honestly, I was too. Since getting her back, I know it was selfish, but I just didn't want to share her.

"I'm going to get fat eating like this Edward. Not even New York has enough healthy take-out places," she said with a groan.

"Babe, you need to put on some more weight," I said gently. She laughed.

"Not very often you hear a guy telling his girlfriend that she needs to _gain_ weight," she remarked dryly. "If I eat one more thing with cheese on it I'm going to be sick. Just let me cook something. I'll even let you help."

"You can tell me what to do and I'll do it for you," I offered. I knew what she was like in the kitchen. I didn't want her reaching for things, bending for things, carrying things, or even twisting around. She'd push herself too far and set herself back, which would be worse for her mentality in the long run.

I just wanted her to _stay still._

She sighed in annoyance. "Never mind."

"How about we go out?" I said quickly, my voice rising in excitement. She looked at me skeptically. "Why not? It's not like we'd give out your name, and no one from Washington would even recognize you if they saw you in a photo with me."

"I look like shit."

I laughed loudly at that, because it was the biggest fucking lie I'd ever heard. She was wearing this little blue lacy dress that made her look fucking delectable, her long hair was hanging over her shoulders in soft waves. She had cut a few inches off of it herself the other day, it had scared the shit out of me walking into the bathroom and finding her cutting her own hair, but it was still really long. She'd told me that it had been annoyingly long for a couple of years, but she'd never been able to bring herself to cut it before just out of spite to Victor.

I knew that all of his victims had been brunettes, but one of the things I hadn't learned from the news was that he had cut the hair of each of his victims to shoulder-length, like hers had been when she was younger.

It was difficult for her to put on pants, and she didn't like asking for help getting dressed, so she'd been wearing dresses lately. I did not fucking mind in the slightest.

"Baby, you look fucking gorgeous. But if you're not comfortable with the idea then we'll think of something else."

She watched me for a long minute, chewing her lip. I grinned.

"You _do_ want to go," I said happily, and she gave me a nervous smile. "Okay! Let's go, I know a great place."

She sighed, but got up carefully and walked with me over to the door. I helped her with her boots, and held her coat for her to slide her arms through.

"Can I drive?"

"Nope. Can I drive the Aston?"

She sighed. "Sure. I wouldn't want anyone thinking that soccer mom transportation was mine," she teased. "It's really sensitive though."

"That's what she said."

She coughed, and then burst out laughing, clutching at her stomach. "Oh god, you've been spending way too much time with Emmett and Rose."

"I know," I laughed, and we walked out to the elevator, only locking two of the locks on the door.

Holy fuck was that car ever fun to drive. I made the way over to one of my favourite restaurants easily. They were ridiculously expensive, but that didn't really matter. The food was awesome, and their tables were very private, which was good because I knew Bella didn't like feeling like she was surrounded. She was always more comfortable with a wall at her back. I pulled up, and handed the keys to the valet as I walked around and got Bella's door. It only took about ten seconds for people to start taking pictures, and the light was fucking blinding. Bella looked too nervous to get out of the car.

"Edward, I didn't bring my sunglasses."

"You don't need them baby."

"But I'll be blind before we even get inside," she said with a bit of a nervous grin, and I laughed before ducking down and pulling her out of the car. She held onto my arms tightly as I steadied her on her feet. I grinned and wrapped an arm around her proudly as I led her inside. "Don't you need a reservation for this sort of place?" she asked quietly, looking around the softly lit room curiously.

"Hmm, I'm not sure to be honest. I've never needed one before." I walked up to the hostess, who just kind of stared at me for a long, awkward minute. I gave her an uncomfortable smile and the kid's face turned beet red. I could feel Bella's silent laughter next to me. "Hey there," I said in a friendly voice.

"Hi," she squeaked back, and I had to cough to cover my almost-laugh. I waited another minute but she didn't say anything else.

"Do you have any free tables?"

"Y-Yes! Of course, for how many Mr. Cullen?"

"It's just the two of us," I said carefully, a little worried about her mental health. "And we'd really like a corner table if possible."

"Oh, yes," she said, and I did _not_ care for the way she eyed my girlfriend. "Right this way please."

We followed her over to a cozy little table in the corner of the room, and I helped Bella with her coat before helping her sit down carefully. The hostess eyed us the entire time until I sat in my seat, and she beamed at me again. "Your server should be here momentarily, but I can take your drink order now if you'd like?"

"Just water for me, what would you like baby? They've got a really good house-white."

"That sounds good," she said with a smile, and looked over at the awkward fucking woman next to us.

"Sorry miss, I'll need to see some ID first."

My fists clenched, because I was pretty damn positive she was just trying to get Bella's name, but my girl just smiled at her.

"Actually, I'd like a water too," she said in an even voice, and the girl started fidgeting under Bella's hard gaze.

Bella won that staring contest hands down in about five seconds.

Our server wasn't much better, and I was getting really damn annoyed because this was the first time I'd even been able to take her out like this and the service was not fucking pleasant. I was just fortunate that my girlfriend had thick skin and didn't really seem bothered by it.

"I swear, if they forget my food I'm never going to a restaurant with you again," she said with a grin. "The people at McDonalds are much nicer."

I laughed, and reached over for her hand. She took mine slightly hesitantly, looking around. "I _am_ sorry about that, I'm going to have a word with their manager before we leave."

"You don't need to-"

"I do, actually. Because I'm not going to tolerate _anyone_ treating you disrespectfully. I just have to handle my business quietly or it will end up on the front of a magazine. Besides, I know the owner a little. I know he likes me coming in because of the publicity it gives him."

She gave me a slightly-shy smile, and I wanted to kiss it so fucking badly.

"Thank you," she said quietly, and I lifted her hand up to my lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Nothing to thank me for," I said with a wink.

She didn't forget Bella's food, it was much worse. She set it down much too hard in front of her, almost dropping it, causing some of the sauce from her pasta to splatter on her dress. It must have been hot, because she flinched, and then cringed in pain as she sucked in a sharp breath and clutched at her abdomen. I was out of my chair in a second, knocking it over in my haste to get to her. I knelt down in front of her.

"Baby? Are you okay?" I asked quietly as I brushed my hand through her hair and cupped the side of her face, feeling the eyes of the room on us.

She nodded, "I'm okay, just give me a sec," she said in a strained voice. I was fucking livid, and glared up at the sever who was shaking nervously.

"Get me your manager," I growled, and she ran from the room with a squeak.

Joham came out a minute later, and almost smiled before he saw me crouched in front of Bella.

"We should probably talk in your office," I hissed, not able to control the sound of the anger in my voice.

"Yes, of course," he said, and gestured for me to walk ahead of him.

"Can you walk baby?" I whispered quietly, knowing she'd probably punch me if I just picked her up in the middle of the restaurant. There was no way I was leaving her alone though. She was breathing easier now, and nodded. I helped her up carefully, then grabbed both of our coats before leading her over to Jo's office.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly, but sank down in front of Bella's chair that I eased her into before I could speak. "Are you okay miss? I have a doctor on staff, or even just something to drink?"

"Umm, water would be nice actually," she said shyly, and he gave her a gentle smile. He pulled a bottle of fancy water out of his mini fridge and poured it into a glass before handing it to her. Her hand was still trembling when she took it. "Thank you."

"Of course, now what happened?" He asked, looking between the two of us.

"Your hostess first, and then our server. They were both extremely rude to my girlfriend, who just recently had surgery you should know, but it seemed like our server purposely dropped her plate in front of her, splashing her. As you can see, even flinching for her is extremely fucking painful."

"Edward-"

"No baby, I'm sorry, but that is totally not fucking acceptable in my books. The way they treated her this entire night has been extremely unprofessional."

"You're right, and I will not tolerate such behaviour from my staff," Jo said, then walked over to his phone.

He fired both of them on the spot, before having a special meal made for Bella and I that we took to go. He even had his own security escort us out because there was a fucking mob in front of the restaurant.

"This is insane, they're going to follow us back to my building," she said nervously.

"Shit. What should we do?"

"Maybe go over to your apartment, leave the car there, then get a ride home in another car?"

"Sounds good," I said, impressed as always by her quick thinking. We went back to my old apartment, and ate our dinner there before it got cold, sharing a nice bottle of German white.

"Shit, he might suck in his choice of wait staff, but definitely not in his cooks," she said, moaning as she took a bite of the decadent-as-fuck chocolate cake.

I rubbed my hands over my face, because that sound went straight to my dick.

It had been awhile, sue me. But I wasn't going to take a chance at hurting her, no fucking way.

I could wait. I'd done it before.

I regretted inhaling mine as I watched her take another slow bite. She grinned when she saw me watching her, and scooped some more onto her fork before holding it out for me. I grinned and leaned forward, wrapping my lips around her fork, and watched as she chewed on her lip as she watched me.

The silence was slightly strained after that.

"We should get back to Zeus," she said quietly, and I nodded and texted Riley before getting up. His car had tinted windows, and I didn't trust the driving service with Bella. I took her empty glass of wine, and rinsed our dishes and put them in the dishwasher before we went down to meet him.

It was the first time I ever saw Riley smile, when I opened the door for Bella. I walked around and joined her in the back seat quickly.

"It's nice to meet you," he said in his gruff voice, sounding genuine. I noticed instantly that he didn't ask for her name, and really admired his awesome professionalism.

"You too," Bella said with a small smile, and Riley took off.

"Am I coincidentally taking you to the location you usually ask me to?"

I grinned. "Yes, thank you."

"No problem."

It was a comfortably quiet drive as he took us to Bella's building.

"Thank you Riley, have a nice night," I said, and went around to help Bella get out of the low seat. The passenger-side window rolled down, and I turned to him.

"Sir," he started, and let out a sigh. "I'm not going to beat around the bush. The internet has already exploded over your dinner, and it's not safe for either of you to walk around together without an escort. Not while your friend is dealing with whatever injury she is. Just… feel free to give me a shout if you require some security."

I gave him a genuine, heart-felt smile. "Thank you, I will. And seriously, enough with the 'Sirs' already. You know what my name is."

He smirked and nodded, then pulled away.

"I like him," Bella commented as we walked over to the elevators. I smiled.

"So do I."

Zeus ran over as soon as we got in, but Bella immediately told him to "still," and he waited patiently and didn't jump up on her when she went and pet him. I should have remembered that when I'd brought her home.

"How's the stomach?" I asked her once more, even though I was probably irritating the shit out of her. She just smiled happily at me though, and leaned into me on the couch and kissed me.

"Good, it's not bothering me at all." She rested her head against my shoulder, just looking up at me and smiling. I laughed, and brushed my fingers back through her hair.

"That wine went straight to your head," I said with a grin, and brushed a thumb over one of her pink cheeks.

"Mmm, it was very good. It felt like forever since I'd had a drink."

"That's not going to fuck with your painkillers is it?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'll be fine." She opened her eyes and I just got completely lost in them. And her beautiful smile. I leaned in and kissed her gently, pulling her legs into my lap as I wrapped an arm around her. It always just felt better the closer I was to her, and was now just the automatic thing to do. She smiled against my lips, sliding her arms around my neck, and then shivered against me.

"How about a movie in bed?" I asked, feeling a little chilly too. I'd rather curl up under the duvet in bed than a throw on the couch though. And she'd be more comfortable if she was lying down.

"Sure," she said with a smile before I stood up with her and set her down on her feet. She went and hit the lights, stopping in the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water. I pulled off my shirt and pants, grabbing her new touch-screen, but not able to take my eyes off of her as she slid off her dress, and unclasped her bra before slipping on nothing more than a baggy Led Zeppelin t-shirt and sliding in next to me carefully with a smile.

I didn't get embarrassed when she caught me looking, because I'm pretty sure she knew I was _always_ looking. I curled up behind her, an arm under her head and one over her waist as I held the tablet in front of us. She flicked through until we found something that we both thought looked interesting.

She shifted around a bit not long into the movie because she was lying on her hair, and the movement caused her baggy shirt to slide down her shoulder. I leaned in and kissed her soft skin, and she sighed softly while closing her eyes with a smile. She smelt so good, and I couldn't help trailing my nose up the side of her neck, taking it in.

She leaned into me, trailing her fingertips lightly down my arm, and I closed my eyes tightly, hiding my face in the back of her hair as the urge to just fucking lick her was too overpowering.

And the way she whispered my name made it fucking painful.

Then she rubbed her perfect ass up against me, and I groaned.

"Bella-" I practically choked out.

"You won't hurt me," she said quietly, pleadingly, moving against me again.

"Christ woman, I only have so much fucking self-control," I groaned, my resolve become pretty damn weak as I slid my hand up her side, under her t-shirt.

"Good, then just let me win," she breathed, letting out a sigh as my fingertips traced along the soft skin beneath her breasts. She just felt so fucking good and I missed touching her like this so god damn much. I carefully slid up her shirt, but she sat up a bit to help me slide it off and she stifled a painful hiss and she shut her eyes tightly.

Fuck, she just wasn't ready for this yet.

"Bella-"

"I'm sorry," she whispered painfully, sounding close to tears. I wrapped my arms around her again as she cautiously turned into me, curling into my chest.

"Baby, you have nothing to apologize for," I told her gently as I rubbed a soothing hand up and down her back. She didn't flinch anymore when I touched her scars. "I just can't hurt you though, I can't take the chance. It's not your fault though. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered against my skin. It felt so good just feeling her skin against mine as I held her. "I just miss this, being close with you like this."

"So do I," I said, carefully tightening my hold on her. She snuggled in closer, her hands on my chest making me shiver.

And we fell asleep like that, her legs tangled with mine as I held her protectively.

. . . . .

I moaned as sleep slowly slipped away. It felt so damn good.

Bella kissed my jaw as her hold on my dick tightened gently.

"Baby, we can't," I complained weakly.

"I know, but I'm only moving my arm," she whispered against my neck in between kisses. "It's your own fault, you were rubbing against me in your sleep and making me all horny. Please baby, I just want to make you come," she said in a seductive voice, and I looked over at her. She was watching me with a hopeful smile as her hand continued to move over me under my boxers.

Maybe I would have argued if I wasn't half asleep, or if I wasn't already so close, or if her hand didn't feel so fucking good. But I didn't, and I came fucking hard as her tongue traced along the shell of my ear.

"Fuck," I cursed quietly as I tried to calm my breathing but not fall back asleep. I looked at Bella worriedly, and her smile disappeared as she shifted away from me slightly.

"Sorry," she said quietly, and her eyes watered. My heart caught in my throat.

"Don't you dare apologize for that," I said seriously, wrapping my arms around her. The mess in my boxers was pretty uncomfortable. "Are you okay though? I was just worried you may have hurt yourself."

She rolled her eyes at me, but didn't pull away. "I'm fine."

I sighed in relief, and smiled before kissing her lips, and felt hers curve up against mine. "I love you."

"Love you too," she whispered happily. I shifted uncomfortably, and I sighed as I pulled away from her. She looked at me curiously, and I raised an eyebrow with a smirk as I pulled off my boxers, using them to clean myself up before tossing them on the floor. She grinned back, her cheeks flushing slightly, and I carefully wrapped my arms around her again, kissing her neck, and scratching her with my morning stubble and making her giggle.

I definitely wanted to return the favour, but Bella was a wiggler and I didn't know how to do that without her ending up hurting herself. She didn't hint at anything though, she just snuggled up against my chest with a content smile.

"Are you ready to get up?" I asked, a little sadly, looking over at the clock and seeing it was almost seven.

"No," she mumbled against my skin, and I grinned as I moved my hands up and down her back.

. . . . .

I couldn't watch her do her physiotherapy. It was too hard. I was worried Emmett might push her too hard, but she had reluctantly told me this wasn't the first time. Emmett had taken it upon himself when they were younger, after her last 'accident' as she referred to it, to make sure she had all the support and encouragement she could tolerate during her rehab.

That didn't settle me in the slightest, because I knew how they both were in there gym.

Bella knew me well though, and I smiled as I drove over to my old apartment.

First she reminded me that I had yet to bring over my piano.

Then she asked me if I missed staying at my apartment, but I told her I really had no attachment to it. It was just a storage locker to me.

So she asked me if I just wanted to move in with her, make it official, and I answered with an immediate yes.

My apartment was bigger, but her apartment felt more like home than mine did, and she had her roof for Zeus.

And it went without saying that her building had much better security. No one had ever seen me come in through the main entrance except for the first time I went there, for a wedding.

It was a pretty simple choice to be honest.

So I tried to distract myself from the fact that Bella was probably in pain and pushing herself way too fucking far by taking inventory of my shit. I didn't do this last time I moved, I just packed a suitcase and tossed my keys to the packers.

I thought it was kind of sad that there wasn't much in my apartment that I actually wanted to keep. Bella's couch was bigger, her kitchen was better stocked than mine, her bed comfier… and no one besides us had ever slept in her bed.

The thought made me shudder, and I felt sick just thinking about it.

I still didn't understand why she was with me, but I was grateful. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I hated to think what my life would have been like if I'd never met her. I'd probably be back to living it up like a douche in LA…

All I really wanted to keep were my books, my music, my clothes, and my instruments.

Fuck, we were going to have a lot of books. I had no clue where we'd fit them all, but I'm sure Bella had some ideas.

I made lists of everything I didn't want, and then lists of what I did along with some pictures. It was easier than trying to write down the names of all the books I had.

And my record player. Bella didn't have one of those, and mine was amazing. She was going to love it.

I packed up some more of my clothes, and loaded them into the back of my SUV with my guitars before picking up some dinner and heading home.

Emmett jumped off the couch as soon as I opened up the door.

"Great! You're back. See you later," he said, rushing out. I caught his arm.

"What's the rush? How did everything go? Is she okay?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine. She just being a crazy bitch and I'm out of here. Good luck!" He said cheerily, and left for the elevator.

If it was anyone besides her brother, I would have knocked him out for calling Bella a bitch, but they had a weird fucking relationship.

I tentatively closed the door as I went in, and set the food out on the counter.

"Baby? Where are you?" I asked, a little freaked out by Emmett's warning.

"Bathroom," she sang, not sounding like a crazy bitch in the slightest.

"Can I come in?" I asked carefully.

"Sure."

I opened the door, and Bella was in her Jacuzzi, jets going and swimming in bubbly, cherry-scented foam. She smiled brightly at me.

"Hey baby, how'd things go? Did you bring your piano?" She said, and it looked like she was trying to make a snowman out of her bubbles. It wasn't working. I grinned.

"No, I'll have to hire someone to move it," I said with a smile, sitting on the edge of the tub and wondering if she'd been drinking. She was still smiling.

"Hmmm. Okay. That makes sense, it's kind of big."

I bit my lip for a moment to stop myself from laughing.

"Yeah, it is. I just brought back some more clothes and my guitars."

She beamed. "I've never heard you play the guitar before! Can you play me a song?" She asked hopefully.

The only time I'd played for her had been when she was unconscious in the hospital, I realized.

"Sure, maybe a bit later?" It was steamy in here, and the moisture wasn't good for the wood. She treated her violins like they were almost disposable, she hadn't really cared at all when she'd ruined her last one playing out in the snow, but my guitars were all collector's items and I did very much care if they might get damaged.

"Okay," she said easily. Watching me. "Would you like to join me? The water's verrry nice," she said, closing her eyes. I laughed.

"Baby, have you been drinking?"

"Nope. Your dad gave me codeine though. It's kind of awesome, much nicer than the morphine," she said happily, and I chuckled quietly.

"And how did things go with Emmett?"

"Ugh, he was being an ass. Asks me to do something, and then I'd do it, cause he said so, you know? And then he'd get all dramatic and worried and bitchy. Just couldn't make up his mind."

"He probably just didn't want you to-" Her eyes opened and she glared at me, so I just dropped it. Emmett could handle her, I didn't see the need to get involved unless he pushed her too far. "I picked up some dinner on the way back. Chicken and veggies. I'll heat it up later."

She smiled again. "Mmm. So, did you want to come in?"

I looked at her carefully, and she was just smiling at me sweetly. Her hair was wet, and so dark it looked black, making her big brown eyes stand out vividly.

It was a pretty fucking hard thing to turn down.

"Sure," I said, pulling off my shirt. She watched me closely as I got undressed, and slid into the tub with her. It was an awesome tub, and even though it smelt kind of girly, it felt great and I sighed as I sunk into the water with her.

Bella was too far away though, and I wanted to be closer to her. So I slid over to her side, and easily lifted her in the water, settling her in front of me and wrapping my arms around her. She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against my shoulder.

"So you're feeling okay? I was worried about you," I said quietly, and shivered as she dragged her nails lightly up one of my legs.

"Mhmm. We didn't do anything strenuous, mostly just stretching," she said quietly, and her fingers were fucking distracting. I tried to think of something to talk about to prevent myself from fucking her right there in the tub.

"I don't want to keep any of my furniture, unless there's anything you want. I have a lot of books though. I don't think there will be enough room on the shelves, you have more than I do."

"Mmmm, a lot of my books are crap. I'll go through them and make room," she said, drawing designs on my leg, and I'm sure she felt me twitch against her.

"No, I don't want you throwing out-"

"I won't be throwing anything out. I've never had a library card, a lot of my books are textbooks, or crap things I started to read and lost interest in. Doubles of things that I later got collector's editions of. A lot of them are hollowed out book safes, and a lot just space fillers. I'll just donate what I don't want and move stuff I don't see myself using soon next door."

"Okay," I said, leaning in and kissing her shoulder. She smiled.

She looked about ready to fall asleep in the tub, so after a few more minutes I got her out, and she dried off before just walking over to her bed and lying down. I grinned. Fuck, she was so beautiful. I walked over and slid a sheet over her, knowing she'd get cold. She rolled onto her stomach, and I stopped, lying down next to her and admiring her wings.

"I'm dizzy," she mumbled into the sheets, and she shivered as I slid a finger down her spine.

"Just rest for a bit, it'll pass," I said gently, and she nodded. I traced along one of the larger feathers on the back of her ribs, and stilled before leaning in and taking a closer look. The pattern in the feather was weird.

There was a name in it. It was barely noticeable as it blended into the shading of the feather, but it was there. Angela. The name rang a bell… My eyes furrowed as I took a closer look. They were hard to notice unless I was looking, but now that I was, I could see them. Danielle, Charlotte, Sarah, Heidi, Caitlin, Maggie, Liam, Charlie…

My pulse was thudding loudly in my ears as a sick feeling filled my stomach.

"Baby?"

"Hmm?"

"There are… names, in your feathers."

She didn't say anything, but she nodded.

"Why?" I asked quietly.

"So I never forget," she whispered.

"Forget what?"

"All of the people that died because of me."

I froze after I ripped my hand away from her, it was getting hard to breathe.

"What do you mean? Who are all these people?"

She sat up carefully, then got out of bed and got dressed quietly, not looking at me.

"Bella?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said shortly, and walked into her bathroom before closing the door.

A couple names were familiar. I knew Charlie was her father, and that he had died, taking a bullet for her.

Did she blame herself for his death?

And all those girls… were they all Victor's victims? Did she blame herself for that too?

I already knew that she did. I got dressed, and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to come out because even if she didn't want to talk, we _needed_ to fucking talk about this.

She came out, and looked like she was going to close the door again when she saw me.

"Baby, we need to talk. Come sit with me," I said gently, yet firmly. Her arms wrapped around herself in that self-hugging thing I hated, but she came and sat next to me.

"Bella, have you ever talked to a therapist?"

"Have _you?"_ She spat back defensively.

"Yes," I told her honestly, which seemed to take her by surprise. She looked down at her lap.

"My dad sent me to all sorts of shrinks before we had to go into hiding," she said quietly.

"I figured, but that's not what I asked." She looked up at me in confusion. "Have you ever _spoken_ to a therapist, not just walked into their office, but actually spoken to one?"

She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to talk about it, I just want to forget about it," she said, eyes watering, and she looked back up at me.

"You're not letting yourself forget about it Bella. Blaming yourself for all of their deaths-"

"But they ARE my fault Edward!" She shouted at me, glaring at me. "And don't even fucking say that they're not, because I'm tired of hearing it. My _best friend,_ Angela, she was the first you know. We were sixteen. It happened just a few months after the movie was released. Do you know why he did it Edward?" She didn't give me time to reply. "He did it because I lied in that movie. He kidnapped her on my sixteenth birthday, right out of her fucking house, and sent the whole fucking thing to me on a DVD. He told me that I lied, and he needed to remind me what had actually happened. He cut off her hair and pretended she was me, he did the same fucking thing to her, but when she hit the gravel she died.

"Then there was Caitlin, then Heidi, then Sarah, Danielle, Charlotte, he did the same fucking thing to each of them, and they all died. Like I should have. The doctor's had no fucking clue how I'd managed to live, but I did, just to have it rubbed in my face that I shouldn't have for the rest of my life."

She was sobbing now, and I was crying too, seeing my beautiful girl in so much fucking pain. I carefully pulled her into my lap, and held her tightly.

"Liam and Maggie?" I asked, so she could just get it all over with at once. She choked on her breath before she was able to reply.

"They tried to separate Emmett and I once, before I turned eighteen, thinking it would be easier to hide me if he wasn't with me," she cried. "They moved me to Canada, and put me up with two FBI agents that posed as my parents, and enrolled me in high school again. Three days. That's how long it took him to find me. Three days. He tied them up and burnt down the house with them still inside."

I held her tightly as she cried into my shirt, just hoping she would get some of the pain out. This was too fucked up for one person to deal with. She needed to talk to someone, or this would kill her. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday it would.

But if anyone had trust issues, it was Bella, and this wouldn't be easy.

I thought Siobhan would be good for her. She was all the way in LA, but was the best there was, and had helped me with my own Victor issues. And I trusted her.

I kept holding her as she cried herself out, and was now sniffling, shaking slightly in my arms.

"Baby, I need you to talk to a therapist," I said gently, and her grip tightened on my shirt as she froze. "I know you don't want to, but you need to._I_ need you too. It kills me seeing you torture yourself, and blame yourself for something that was so out of your control. I don't know how to make you see that it just wasn't your fault. I know you don't want to hear it, but I told you I'd never lie to you, and I'm not going to break that promise. Please Bella, if not for yourself, then for me?"

We were silent and still for a long time, but I didn't rush her.

A few minutes later she nodded against me.

"Thank you," I told her thickly, kissing her hair.

"I think I'm going to take a nap for a bit," she breathed. "Can you… stay with me?"

"Of course," I told her, and I curled up behind her under her blankets until her tremors stopped and she drifted off into a medicated sleep.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Yeah, Bella's a mess. Her whole world has changed though, and she's clinging to her one constant. Leave her some love? She could use really use it.**

**Do you think she would have agreed to therapy for anyone but him?**


	21. Chapter 21

**Song - Yo Hello Hooray - USS**

. . . . . . . . . .

"Baby?"

"Hmm?" She asked absentmindedly. She was sitting on one of her stools, cutting up stuff and throwing it into the large crock-pot in front of her. I sat next to her and waited until she looked up at me. She smiled brightly. "What's up?"

I sighed, and ran my hand through my hair nervously. Her eyebrows furrowed and she put down her knife and placed her hand on my thigh, looking at me worriedly.

_Just fucking say it._

I pulled in a deep breath. "Bella… will you come to LA with me when I leave for filming?"

Her eyes widened, and she watched me quietly for a long minute while chewing on her bottom lip.

"Can we bring Zeus?"

I nodded quickly, smiling, but she fucking beamed at me.

"Okay," she said quietly. I stared at her for a long minute, trying to convince myself that I wasn't dreaming.

"Really?"

She nodded, still smiling.

Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her firmly.

"Thank you," I breathed, feeling like a million pounds had been lifted off of my shoulders. Her arms slid around my neck as she leaned into me.

"Thank you for asking me," she said back quietly. I kissed her again.

"I would have asked sooner, but I was afraid you might say no," I admitted, and she pulled away, sitting up straight. She cringed slightly from the fast movement, but she was getting better, healing more each day. She'd had a stationary bike brought over from the gym, and having that outlet for her stress had really improved her mood over the past couple weeks.

"Why did you think that?" She asked, looking a little hurt, but mostly worried.

"Because your life is here. Even though you're not working anymore…. Your brother, Rose, Alice, Jasper, your building and investments… I didn't know if you'd be willing to leave all that."

"But I wouldn't have you," she said quietly, her eyes watering. I leaned in and kissed her again.

"I would have come back and visited, even if I only had a one day break I'd still fly down to see you, even if it was only for a few hours," I told her honestly, hoping it would cheer her up. It wasn't that I thought she didn't love me enough, because I knew Bella loved me, but I thought it might be too hard for her to be away from Emmett. "I'd much rather have you all the time though. The two weeks on tour was hell, I don't want to do that for four months, but I would if it was the only way to keep you."

"I love you so much," she said, combing her fingers through my hair. "I was miserable when you were gone, I don't want to do that again."

"And you don't have to," I said with a smile, because _she was coming with me!_

I laughed happily, and kissed her again, because I was just so fucking happy right now.

"Have you ever been to London before?"

She shook her head. "I went to Canada for a few days, but besides that, I've never been outside of the states before."

My fingers clenched into a fist in anger, because that certainly did not fucking count as a vacation.

Had she ever even been on a vacation before? I struggled to find a way to ask without sounding like an ass.

"What's wrong? You look like you're thinking much too hard," she mused, sliding a delicate finger along my brow. I sighed.

"I was just wondering if… uhm, did you go on many vacations with your father when you were younger?"

She laughed. "Oh yeah, tons."

I sighed in relief. "Where did you go?"

"Fishing."

I waited for her to continue but… she didn't.

"Fishing?"

"Yup, almost every weekend when the weather was nice, and a lot of times even when it wasn't."

"You hate fish."

"I do now, because I went fishing almost every weekend until I was seventeen. My dad loved fishing, so does Emmett. I just liked hanging out with them."

I bit back my sigh, because I did not consider that a vacation either.

"You never went to like… Disneyland or something?"

"Nah, it was too expensive. And then when I did have the money… well, it just wasn't safe. It would have been too hard for the agents to watch us."

I nodded. I was going to take her on an amazing fucking vacation, but the time wasn't right. She needed to concentrate on her rehab and we'd have to leave in two months to go to LA. But after…

I grinned.

I bet she would love Rome…

"What are you smiling about now?" She asked with a laugh, watching me curiously.

"Just plotting world domination."

She rolled her eyes, and got up to wash her hands before she started cutting vegetables again.

"So what's your schedule going to be like in LA?"

"Er…"

"You haven't organized your calendar yet, have you?" She asked knowingly.

"Tyler usually took care of that stuff for me," I admitted sheepishly. He would just plan out all of the interviews around my filming dates, and tell me what time to be ready the next day to be picked up.

Funny how you don't really realize how much work a person does until they're gone. Not that I regret firing him, I was still fucking glad not to be dealing with him anymore, but I really didn't want to try and hire a new manager. Not after him.

"I can… do it for you if you want?" She offered shyly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Baby, are you asking for a job?" I teased. She laughed and rolled her eyes at me.

"No, because I wouldn't let you pay me, but it's easy work, I've done it before, and I wouldn't mind if you wanted the help."

I knew for her it probably would be easy work, the way she'd set up my calendar for me for the premiere tour in January, all I'd had to do was give a paper copy of it to my security escort. There were alarms to wake me up and give me time to get ready, reminders for my plane times that seemed to magically fucking pop up when I'd think about what I was supposed to be doing next, there had even been notes about all of the people and magazines I'd had interviews with. All on my fucking cellphone.

She was probably the most organized person I knew, except when it came to her shelves. That had driven me crazy, there was no system to it at all, but she'd let me organize them properly when I'd officially moved in.

"Okay. If you're offering, I don't think it's something I can refuse," I admitted with a smile. She smiled back. "What do I need to do?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll get in contact with Mac's assistant and take care of it," she said easily. I shook my head with a smile. She put her knife down and looked at me again. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about though… or well, ask you, maybe."

I reached forward and tucked her hair behind her ear, kissing her cheek. "And what is that?"

"It's about my name…" she said hesitantly, and I almost freaked out for a moment but she wasn't thinking along the same lines I had been for... well, months really. "I want to go back to my old name. Alec was going to help me with the paperwork and red tape, transferring all of my assets and different accounts over into a new one, but… if anyone heard my real name if I was, well, with you, I doubt it would take long for stories to start coming up about my past, and… I just don't think I'd be able to deal with that," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. I pulled her onto my lap and held her tightly, but I couldn't argue with her, because she was right.

She had thick skin, but I didn't think she would be able to handle that either. Who would?

"What do you want to do then?"

"Well, something like I've been doing here, I guess. Only on paper I'll really be me, but for appearances, especially if I'm helping you manage your schedule or we start going out in public more, I was thinking we could stick with Bree Tanner? It's what most of my contacts now know me as already. I don't like her, but I think it would be best."

I smiled. "That sounds like a good plan." Even though I liked mine better. It was the perfect way to deal with the issue of her name, giving her mine, but I wasn't going to propose for a reason like that. The timing still didn't feel right; I didn't want to promise her the world just before getting sucked into a hectic four months of work. "You said you wanted to ask me something though?"

"I was just wondering if you'd be okay with that?"

I lifted my eyebrow in disbelief. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"I just don't like asking you to lie for me," she said quietly.

I shook my head, and cupped her face again. "Baby, what name you use, how you dress, what you do for work, none of that matters to me. I'd do anything in the world to keep you safe, without hesitation. I think this plan is the best way to go too," I told her honestly. She smiled brightly, and I leaned in to kiss her. "So, are we done with the heavy?" I asked hopefully, smiling. She grinned.

"Yeah, I think that about covers it."

"Well then, I think we need to celebrate. You're my new manager, you and Zeus are coming to LA with me, and soon you'll have a driver's license with your real name on it!" She giggled, still grinning at me. "This definitely calls for a drink!"

"I'll have enough chili here for the gang, did you want to see if they want to come celebrate with us?"

"Sure," I said, picking up my phone.

"Just one thing," she said, reaching out for my arm and stopping me. "Emmett… might not take the news very pleasantly at first. I'll take care of it, but… I just wanted to warn you."

I nodded, that wasn't too surprising. I knew how protective he was of her.

And from what I knew, the only time they'd really spent apart was when they'd been separated for that one week when she was seventeen, and Victor had burnt her house down within days.

Yeah, he might not be too excited about his sister moving away with me for a few months, but she was safe now, and she'd be safe with me. I'd make damn sure of it.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Emmett, we'll be back in three days," she said softly, but he didn't let her go. There were a lot of people taking pictures of the three of us, but no one came close with Emmett's intimidating form there. He didn't notice though, and just kept hugging her.

"I know… you have your painkillers in case your stomach starts bothering you?"

"Yes Emmett."

"I don't want you doing your exercises while you're gone, okay?"

"Fine."

"And you have your phone_ and_ charger?"

"God, Emmett, you know you're talking to _me_, right? I pack with a fucking checklist, I'm not forgetting anything. I love you, and I'll call you when I land if it makes you feel better."

"You better fucking call me."

"You're being such a fucking girl."

"Well, I feel like one. I love you."

"Love you too Em. Take care of my baby."

He nodded, and looked at me. "You better fucking watch her," he growled. "Shut up B," he said before she could argue with him, and she rolled her eyes while crossing her arms.

"I will," I told him seriously, because I wouldn't let her out of my sight for a fucking second. No way.

"Okay, I'll see you guys on Monday," he said, giving Bella one last kiss on the cheek before we walked through the first checkpoint in the terminal. Bella was shifting nervously next to me, no doubt uncomfortable with all of these people staring at us. I took her hand, and whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

"Smile baby, you're going to be front page tomorrow," I told her teasingly, because if I didn't joke about it I'd probably have an anxiety attack, wondering if this was going to be the point where she finally tapped out and couldn't deal with this anymore. She let out a shaky laugh.

"I kind of wished I dressed better for my debut," she tried to joke, her hand squeezing mine nervously.

"Mmm, no, I like what you're wearing. You look fucking hot," I whispered, kissing her cheek.

And she fucking blushed when she smiled at me, and I felt a thousand pounds lighter. My words were completely true though. She didn't have to deal with all of her disguises anymore, and had shredded most of her pant-suits except for a few of her favourites. I saved the librarian outfits from meeting the same fate, thank god. It was warming up though, and today she was just wearing a pair of denim shorts and a white tank top, but with her black leather jacket, brown leather boots and her hair long and straight. She looked like she just walked off of a fucking magazine shoot.

She froze when the first person approached me, and I wrapped an arm around her firmly to try and keep her calm.

"H-hi!" The brunette said. "Can I have an autograph?"

"Sure," I said, taking her pen and paper. "Who should I make this out to?"

"Angela," she said happily. I looked over at Bella quickly, because every name she'd marked herself with was now burned into my mind, and she just gave me a sad smile before looking away. I signed the girl's paper and said good-bye, and I took Bella's hand again before leading us over to the proper terminal.

"Edward?" She asked quietly, and I looked over, panicking slightly when I saw she was wincing.

"What's wrong, are you okay?"

"Are you? You're kind of cutting off circulation," she said with a gentle smile, and I quickly let go of her hand.

"Sorry," I said, and she shook her head before taking my hand again.

"It's okay, but what's wrong?"

I didn't really know what to say to that.

"Was it her name?"

"Kind of."

"Why did it bother you?"

"Well… I was just worried it would bother you."

She shook her head. "You don't need to worry about stuff like that. Yeah, I think about them when I hear their names, I think of all of them every day, but I've kind of learned to live with it. It doesn't bother me."

"Are you sure?"

She gave me a soft smile and nodded.

My chest felt heavy, seeing her set off the metal detectors and knowing why this time. As soon as she was through I had my arm around her again, just really needing to have her close to me. In this crowded room, when she was too far away I felt like I couldn't breathe, like any one of these fucking people could just turn into a another Victor and try to take her away from me.

As soon as we were seated on the plane, and I got our bags put up top, Bella asked for a scotch for each of us. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You need a drink. You're too stressed out, and seeing you stressed out makes me stressed out. Don't you dare apologize," she said, and handed me my glass when the steward came back. "Cheers," she said, raising an eyebrow at me, daring me to deny it, and I sighed before knocking back my drink. She followed suite.

"Shit, do they always have such bad scotch on planes?" She asked, making me laugh.

"The champagne is usually better," I told her with a smile. She smiled back, and then hesitantly leaned in, kissing me softly. That fucking got my attention, because she had never kissed me in public before, though she had never stopped me from kissing her or holding her hand since she woke up in the hospital.

"I love you," she said quietly.

"I love you too," I said with a smile, leaning in and kissing her more firmly. She tasted like cherries and scotch, and just fucking delicious. She squeaked in surprise when my hand went over her hip, and then she laughed when she heard me click in her seat-belt.

. . . . . . . . . .

We got out of the terminal in LA, and I kept a protective arm around Bella as we made our way through the fucking mob to get to the silver Mazda RX8 that was parked out front.

Bella looked like she wanted to start throwing punches, but I knew she wouldn't.

Well, I bet she would if there was an obvious threat, but she knew now she wasn't being looked at as personal security, and what that would make her look like in the papers if she had.

"Hey Harry!" She said happily to the guy, who smiled, his eyes darting over to me, our entwined hands, and then back to her again.

"Hey sweetheart, how you feeling? Healing up okay?"

"Much better, thanks," she said with a smile. "Edward, this is Harry, I told you he owns the rental company that I use here in town?"

"Nice to meet you," I said with a smile, holding out my hand. He shook it with a giant fucking grin.

"Very nice to meet you too, big fan," he said excitedly.

"Thanks."

"Well Bree, extra plates are under the cover in the trunk if you need them. Just lock the keys inside when you're done as usual."

"Thanks again Harry," she said sweetly, and he waved as he took off. I loaded our bags into the trunk, and then I drove, because Bella had had a few drinks on the plane.

"You know, Harry is probably going to get some great business after people see you shaking his hand and driving away in one of his cars," she said with a smile.

"Good, he seems like a nice guy."

"He is," she said happily.

. . . . . . . . . .

I knew she was nervous, but I hadn't expected to wake up to the sound of her throwing up. She locked me out of the washroom and wouldn't let me in though, telling me she was fine.

She obviously wasn't, but there wasn't much I could do besides hold her, and for that I'd have to wait until she _unlocked the damn door._

I ordered room service but she barely ate, her fork fucking trembling in her hands.

Thank god we had an early appointment, so we could get this done and out of the way. I'd talked to Siobhan about her a few weeks ago, when we couldn't find a therapist in New York that she was comfortable enough to meet with. When I told her that I trusted Sib though, and that I had seen her for years, and that she had helped me deal with my own Victor issues, she had agreed to meet her.

I knew she didn't want to, and that she was doing it for me, but I fucking loved her for it. She still didn't see how badly she needed this.

So, on an empty stomach and looking scared shitless, I took Bella to her office.

What scared me most though was when I parked the car, and Bella just seemed to calm. She stopped shaking, her body relaxing, but her eyes looked completely vacant. It scared the shit of me.

"Baby?"

"Hmm?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Let's go." She got out without waiting for me to open her door for her, and I caught up quickly to her. I took her hand, but I don't even think she felt it. She just kept walking. When we got to the small, private waiting room, she just sat down quietly, looking at the forms the woman at the desk gave her. She didn't fill anything out.

"Do you need any help?"

"No. They don't need to know my last name, or my birthday. Any of this. And I'm not giving it to them," she said quietly yet firmly. I nodded.

Siobhan came out, and gave us both a bright smile. "Edward! It's nice to see you again," she said, and then looked at Bella with the same smile. "And it's very nice to meet you," she told Bella. "If you're ready, shall we head into my office?"

"Sure," Bella said, standing up. I stood up with her.

"No boys allowed. I'll take care of her," Sib told me. I looked at Bella worriedly, I hadn't even thought about leaving her alone with her.

"Is that okay baby?"

"Yes, I'll see you in a bit," she said without looking at me, and walked away with my old therapist.

I didn't see her in _a bit_. I listen to Sib's receptionist cancel on a car and lunch appointment, and she was with Bella in there for hours. By the time she came out she looked like she was going to faint, and I ran to her side quickly, but she shook her head and gave me a smile when I went to wrap my arms around her.

"I'm fine," she said quietly, and I fucking hugged her anyways, knowing she wasn't, but either way I just needed to touch her. Siobhan cleared her throat, and Bella turned to look at her sheepishly. She tore a sheet from her prescription pad, and handed it to Bella.

She looked at it, and started fucking laughing.

"I like how your mind works. Thanks," she said, and Sib winked.

"I'll talk to you again soon?"

Bella nodded, and we walked back outside together, Bella slipping on some sunglasses. We got in the car, and I asked her if there was anything we needed to pick up. She handed me her prescription pad.

"**1 bottle white wine  
1-2 pieces of chocolate cake  
Luxuirious Bubble bath.**

**Tonight, Doctor's orders.  
-S"**

I laughed, handing it back to her. "Easily arranged. So… How did it go?"

She was quiet for a minute. "Would it be okay if we just… didn't talk about it? I'm tired of talking about it, but I did, and I'll see her again when we come back."

"Okay. But… I just want you to know that you _can_ talk to me Bella."

She sighed. "No, I can't."

"What?"

"I love you Edward, and that's why I don't want to talk to you about it. I know my life has been pretty fucked up, I've always known that, and every time I've told you a part of that fucked up side it makes me feel like shit, because I know it hurts you. I just… I don't want to put any more of my shit on you. Which is why I'll talk to Siobhan, because I can see that you need me to talk to _someone_."

"You need it too Bella. You'll see, maybe not right away, but this is going to help you."

She nodded.

"I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me though," I added, because it was really true. There was some truth in her words too, because some of the stuff she'd told me… well, it haunted me, but I needed her to know she could be any part of her that she needed to be around me.

"I'm not, I just don't want to talk about what he did anymore."

"Okay," I said, and she gave me a small smile. "It there anything I can do though?"

"…Yes, actually."

"What? Name anything."

"I want you to book an appointment to talk to her too."

"What, like, with you?"

"No, by yourself."

"Why?"

She looked at me sadly, pushing back her sunglasses. "Because there is stuff that I've told you that I regret, that you shouldn't have to carry on your shoulders. You flinch whenever you hear one of their names now. And… You have nightmares Edward. I know you do. I just want you to be able to vent to someone, because I can see that you can't talk to me about it."

"I'm sorry." She was right though, I couldn't, because I was too afraid of hurting her. To cause her pain was to cause myself pain.

"It's not something to apologize about Edward, I get it, I really do," she said softly, taking my hand. "Will you talk to her again though?"

"Sure, I'll book an appointment when we get back. Can you try to squeeze it into my schedule?" I said with a teasing wink, making her laugh.

"I'm sure I can fit it in somewhere," she said. "Thank you."

"Anything," I told her, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing it softly. If it gave her the smallest bit of comfort, I'd do it. It was as easy as that.

And it wouldn't hurt, venting, as she had said.

She seemed a hell of a lot better than she had been this morning, but it was obvious to me, as she looked out the window and watched the streets quietly, that she was lost deep in her mind.

I wanted to make her smile. I was going to wait until after our meeting with Marcus tomorrow to give her present to her, but I decided I didn't want to wait that long. Not if it stood a chance of making her happy now.

So, I started driving east. Luckily, I was pretty familiar with the area after living here for five years, so I didn't have to give away our destination by using the GPS.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked after about twenty minutes, probably when she realized we should have been coming up to the hotel by now.

"It's a surprise," I said with a bit of a smile. "Are you up for it? If you're tired I can wait until tomorrow."

"I'm fine. Could we stop and get a bottle of water or something though?"

"Sure," I said happily, pulling off at the next gas station I saw. I ran in and got myself a coffee, and a bottle of water for her. She took a couple of her painkillers and downed about half the bottle.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a bit sore, it's nothing," she assured me with a small smile. The sun came out, so we drove the rest of the way with the top down, and it made me smile when Bella leaned her head back against the headrest with her eyes closed, smiling as the sun warmed her face.

It was hard not to stare, but I was driving, and couldn't afford not to be watching the road.

Seven months. We've been dating for seven months, and she was unconscious for a month of it, but I felt like I'd known her for years. So much had happened in only half a year.

We were getting close, and as I pulled off of the highway, I pulled the sleeping mask I had grabbed in the gas station out of my pocket. I thought it was weird finding them there, I had hoped for some sort of tie just because of sentimentality, but this was all they had. Right next to the energy drinks. Fucking weird.

"Can you put this on?" I asked. At least I'd gotten her the plain black one, not one of the pink ones that had "Princess" Embroidered on them. There was no way in hell she would have put one of those on.

I'd only heard someone call her princess once, Emmett, and she had punched him in the face.

"Why?" She asked curiously, taking it and looking at me questioningly.

"I'm trying to be dramatic and mysterious, and they didn't have any ties," I said with a wink, and her face blushed beautifully. No doubt thinking about that night I had blindfolded her.

Hmm, I never did get to try that again…

"Please? Just humour me."

She let out a soft sigh and put it over her eyes, then pulled her hair through.

"How do I look?"

I probably looked for longer than necessary, but I couldn't help it. In her khaki skirt, and white sleeveless blouse, blindfolded… fuck.

That I wanted her went without saying.

She was doing a lot better, if I was gentle, I bet we could without her hurting herself now…

"Fucking edible."

"What?" she squeaked, her face flaming red.

"You heard me."

She bit onto her bottom lip, trying to restrain a grin.

I pulled up to the gate, and entered the code. It was my first time seeing it in person, but it looked just as great as it did in the pictures. The whole lot was walled in with smooth, white concrete, and Zeus was going to love all the space.

I pulled up the driveway, and parked by the front door.

I got out, and opened Bella's door, giving her a hand out of the low car, and then walking with her away from the house before turning her to face it. I stopped with my hands on her hips, resting my chin on her shoulder. She smiled.

"You ready?"

"I don't know, you didn't specify what sort of surprise this was," she answered with a grin. I chuckled, then pulled up her sleeping mask. She looked up at the house, then around the yard, and then looked at me in confusion.

"Where are we?"

"Home. Well, home away from home."

"What?" She gasped, looking at me in disbelief. I smiled.

"What, did you actually think I'd keep you and Zeus locked up in a hotel for four months?" I asked with a smile.

"You bought a house."

"Mhmm."

"You bought a very_ large_ house."

"Yeah, it is a bit big I guess," I said, looking up at it. "But it's all fenced in, and Zeus would love the space to run around. We wouldn't have to worry about people coming up to the door. It's more private. Plus, there were no small houses around here. I liked being close to the beach and the woods."

"We're close to the beach?" She asked excitedly, beaming up at me. I grinned and nodded.

"You like beaches?"

"I love beaches. There was one not far from my home in Washington, but it was always so cold and rainy. I liked watching the tidal pools though," she said with a smile.

"Well, let's take a look inside, then we can go scout out the beach too if you want?"

She nodded excitedly, grabbing my arm with both of her hands, and I laughed again as we walked up the stairs. Slowly. Stairs were still kind of hard for her. She didn't wince, but her grip on me tightened.

"You must have spent a fortune on this," she mused, looking around the polished mahogany floors, cream colored walls, high-ceilings and giant windows.

"Nah," I said easily. This was pocket change.

I was fucking grinning. For the longest time I had felt like I hadn't really been able to give her anything, where she gave so much without batting an eye.

It made me pretty fucking happy being able to do things like this now. She gave me look, letting me know she didn't believe me in the slightest, and I just grinned, pulling her along with me by the hand as we explored.

She gasped when she saw the kitchen, just like I knew she would. It was huge, and fucking gorgeous. She oooed and ahhhed, and excitedly told me about the advantages of the separated compartments in the oven, and bragged about how the flat cooktop built in the counter would be so easy to clean. Like I'd let her fucking clean this house. No way. I was hiring someone to do that.

She was blown away by the size of the master bedroom and it's ensuite on the east side of the main floor. There were four other bedrooms on the top floor. The living room was massive.

Her favourite was the backyard though. Thick green grass, tall trees, and beautifully landscaped gardens.

"This is so beautiful Edward," she said quietly.

"It will look even better once we put some furniture in it," I said with a smile, pulling her towards me. She grinned up at me with her hands on my stomach. "So it's okay? You like it?"

"I love it," she told me back happily. "You need to let me pay rent though."

I laughed loudly at that. "No fucking way baby."

"But-"

"Are you going to let me start paying for rent at home?"

"That's different, my apartment is paid off, and pays for itself."

"This is paid off too," I said, raising an eyebrow at her and daring her to keep trying to argue. She wouldn't fucking win, even if she starting giving me a strip tease right now I wouldn't let her drop so much as a dime.

I never wanted her to have to pay for something again in her life, but she was loaded and bought whatever she wanted whenever she felt like it, so there wasn't much I could do about it.

She frowned, and I shook my head with a smile.

"Get used to it baby," I said with a grin, and kissed her firmly.

We left not long after, but we didn't stay at the beach long because it was crowded, and once a couple people recognized me I almost got pulled into a mass-autograph signing. Bella didn't seem to mind though. She looked so peaceful as we drove back to the hotel. I ordered us some room service, and a very large bottle of wine, and we sat out on the balcony to eat, talking about ideas for furniture and decorating. Our tastes in décor were surprisingly similar though, which shouldn't have really surprised me because I had always liked her apartment more than mine that my mother had decorated.

By the time our plates were cleared, we were finishing off the bottle too.

"So what will you do with the house after you're done filming?" She asked curiously, settling down next to me on the couch. I pulled her legs into my lap and wrapped an arm around her, so she'd be closer.

Much better.

"I'm not sure yet. Sell it maybe. Or maybe we can keep it as a vacation house or something. I guess we can just play it by ear."

Fuck, her legs felt so soft. I traced the design of her constellation with my index finger.

"When do we move in?"

"Hmm. When do you want to? We could come a few days early to start things up, or we can stay in a hotel when we come back and work on it in our spare time. Or we can hire somebody to set it up, order our stuff online. I'm fine with anything really."

"I wouldn't mind coming a bit early. Take some time to enjoy it before you get swamped with work," she said hopefully.

I found it a little odd that not once had she seemed reluctant or disappointed in leaving New York. She only looked relieved and hopeful. Eager even. I think she really wanted to get away from there for a while.

"Okay," I said, and leaned in to kiss her neck. She always smelt so damn good.

I didn't want to stop.

So I didn't.

I left a trail of kisses up her neck, along her jaw, and under her ear, slowly, and her hands gripped lightly onto my biceps.

She shivered as I exhaled beneath her ear.

Her grip on me tightened as I slid my hands down her sides, and underneath her thin blouse as they went up her waist.

Her breathing became a little heavier as I traced the underwire of her bra with my thumb. Fuck, her skin was so damn soft. I wanted feel more of her.

I started slowly unbuttoning the little buttons on her blouse. Her hands were shaking slightly, and I paused before I could get too carried away.

Because I did not want to fucking stop tonight.

"How are you feeling?" I asked worriedly. She had said she was sore early in the afternoon.

"Horny," she said, kissing me again, and I chuckled against her lips as I pushed her shirt off her shoulders and unclasped her bra. She sighed as my hands moved around, cupping her breasts and rubbing my thumbs over her nipples.

I leaned her back against the couch so that she was lying down, hovering over her as my lips moved back down her jaw, her neck, along her collarbone, and over her breasts. I flicked at her nipple with my tongue before wrapping my lips around it, making her moan. My hands moved lower as my mouth teased her, popping the little button on her skirt, slowly undoing the zipper before I tugged on them lightly. Bella lifted her hips for me to slide them off, and I pretty much growled, looking at her laying there in nothing more than a pair of lacy, dark-blue boy shorts. I kissed my way down her stomach, then along the beautiful tattoo on her hip bone before biting onto the edge of the lace and slowly pulling them down. She whimpered as I trailed my tongue back up her calf, and the inside of her thigh, but skipping over where she wanted me most, smiling up at her.

Her moan of frustration turned into one of pleasure as my fingers parted her, and I slowly teased her with my thumb.

She was so fucking wet. I couldn't resist her, leaning in and trailing my tongue around her center, making her fists clench as she whimpered. I could feel her pulse in the one hand I had resting gently on her abdomen, making sure she didn't flinch too hard and hurt herself, and also just trying to keep her in fucking place as I teased her with my tongue, then slid a finger, then two inside of her, curling them as I increased in speed, and it was only about a minute before I felt her muscles clench down on me and she came with a quiet whimper.

I wasn't fucking done yet though, and it had been too long, so I didn't stop. I pushed right through her first orgasm, and then her second, before kissing my way up her body and attacking her mouth with mine. She moaned as she tasted herself on me, wrapping her legs around me and pulling me into her.

I braced myself on my left forearm, guiding myself as I teased her, sliding up and down her center, teasing her clit, until she was fucking begging me for it.

And I gave it to her happily, slowly sliding in, letting out a hiss as she went from tight to fucking crazy tight as she clenched around me. Her fingers dug into my shoulders and her thighs clamped down on my hips as I started moving inside of her, and I brushed her hair away from her damp face, before kissing her passionately, attacking her tongue with mine until she was gasping for breath, and moved down her neck instead. Every inch of her tasted fucking sublime.

"I love you so much," I growled, picking up my speed but still trying to be gentle.

"I love you too," she cried, and I felt her start to tighten again and knew she was close, it seemed like she was holding back though.

"Come for me Bella, I know you can do it again," I growled against her throat. She whimpered, and I slid my hand between us and rubbed my thumb over her swollen clit, and she cried out as she came. I was only seconds behind her, collapsing on top of her. I didn't pull out, because I just wanted to fucking stay inside of her. I wrapped my arms around her, shifting her a bit so that I had her trapped between me and the back of the couch. She kept her leg hiked over my hip, and her head was buried against my chest.

She fell asleep in about ten minutes I think, cuddled up against my chest with a glowing smile. I managed to pick her up and slide into our hotel bed with her without even waking her up.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Can you understand Bella's reluctance about talking to Edward about Victor? Edward doesn't like it, but he understands it since he can't talk to her about it either. They're too afraid to hurt each other. Opinions? Thoughts? I want to hear them! What did you think of Edward's present?**

**Next chapter, the two of them sit down for lunch with Marcus. What do you think they're going to talk about? I love hearing your theories. :)**

**Take care guys.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Song: Fortune Days by The Glitch Mob (Song played while they're on the matts.)**

**SM Owns the Twilight Universe… I own a box of Timbits. I promise you that they will no longer be a part of this world by the time I finish proof-reading and post this chapter though.**

. . . . . . . . . .

I just stared at her as she came out of the bedroom. I swear, no woman had ever been so beautiful in the existence of the universe.

"That's a gorgeous dress," I said in a bit of a daze. It was a white lace that went from her collarbone to halfway down her thighs, that had a soft, baby blue coloured silk underneath.

"Thanks, your sister made it for me," she said with a smile. As soon as she sat next to me I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her neck since her hair was up in a messy bun that gave me such easy access. "Edward…" She moaned quietly, her hands fisting in my shirt.

"Hmm?"

"We can't…"

"Says who?" I growled, tightening my hold on her. She giggled.

"You, you're the one who decided on a lunch meeting."

I sighed, letting her stand back up, but I kept my hands on her hips, keeping her in between my legs and just taking a moment to enjoy the sight of her.

"What?" She asked with a suspicious grin.

"Nothing, I just like looking at you," I told her honestly. She blushed.

"Well, the feeling is _very_ mutual," she said with a wink, making me laugh. I got up, walking over to the door with her before we put on our shoes and sunglasses and headed down to the lobby. Bella drove to the restaurant this time. We argued for about five minutes over it before she won, because honestly, I was just too turned on to make any more logical arguments. She was sexy as hell when she was pissed off.

She drove with a smile on her face over to Elemental.

"So, do you know the owner or something?" I asked curiously, thinking of the last time we had been here, also to meet Marcus.

"Yeah actually. We lived here in LA for a few weeks when I was seventeen. We lived in the same building, and his dog got out once. She got along really well with Zeus, and I would walk her for him sometimes."

"What did you do here when you were in LA?" I asked curiously, and she seemed to lose a bit of her energy.

"Not much. I'd go for walks with Zeus, go to the gym that Emmett was instructing classes at, and work on online courses at home." She pulled up in front of the restaurant, and I did not fucking like the Valet that opened her door and helped her out. He was grinning and watching her like a hawk, and I just really didn't like him touching her.

I shot him a warning glare as I wrapped an arm around her and led her inside.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, and I looked down to see her watching me worriedly. "You're tense."

"I'm good," I said with a smile, feeling my body relax as I kissed her temple. It didn't really look like she believed me, but she leaned into my side.

"Reservation for Cullen and Volturi," I told the hostess, and she smiled sweetly at me.

"Right this way Mr. Cullen," she said politely, and led us over to a table.

"This isn't our table," Bella told her politely when we stopped.

"Pardon me?"

"Benjamin put us in his corner table," she told the woman, who looked at her disbelievingly. I could practically feel Bella's irritation in the air, but her voice remained polite and calm. "Go get him."

I didn't say anything, because I knew Bella would have been uncomfortable as shit sitting at the table we were at now. It was very close to a window, and was surrounded by other filled tables.

"But-"

"_Go get him_," Bella said in a voice that made the girl flinch, and she left without another word, coming back a minute later with the same man who had come to speak to us last time.

"Hey Ben," she said with a sweet smile.

"Stephanie!" He said with a happy smile, then looked around in confusion. "Again?" He asked, sounding annoyed.

It was always so weird, hearing people use her past names. I had difficulty enough with Bree, and it was just a harsh reminder of what her past had been like.

She shrugged with a sweet smile, and he laughed before escorting us over to the private corner table closer to the back of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why-"

"There was a photographer sitting at the next table, my guess is that he saw our names and bribed her to put us next to him," she told him, and he frowned.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Nothing to worry about. She'sonly human," she said with a shrug. "Oh, sorry, Ben, this is Edward. Edward, this is Benjamin, who I was telling you about earlier," she said with a smile for me. I grinned at the man, and leaned forward to shake his hand.

"It's very nice to see you again Mr. Cullen," he said politely, and I smiled.

"Likewise."

Drinks were brought to the table, but Bella was sticking to water because she still wanted to drive, and Marcus arrived only moments later.

He practically sprinted over to her, but stopped himself right before he hugged her.

She gave him a gentle smile, and got up to hug him herself. His face looked so pained as he held her.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling? How is Emmett? How are things with the press going?" He asked in one breath, making Bella laugh.

"I'm fine Mac, really."

He sighed, leaning back and cupping her face in his hands. She rolled her eyes at him, making him laugh before he let her go.

Then he looked over at me, giving me a calculating look before smiling. "It's nice to see you again Edward."

"You too," I said.

"So how long are you two in town for?"

"We're heading back home tomorrow," Bella said, smiling at me. "But, we'll be back in a couple weeks."

"We, as in, both of you?" He asked in surprise, looking extremely pleased. Bella grinned up at me.

"Yes, we bought a house outside of the city, B's coming down to join me while I'm here for filming."

"Ugh, Zeus is not going to be happy about being put in a crate on a plane," Bella laughed, making me laugh too.

"Oh, would you like to use my jet?" Marcus asked happily.

Bella's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Sure, I know it can't be easy for the two of you to travel together publicly," he mused with a grin. "When are you coming down? I'll have it sent for you."

She beamed happily. "Two and a half weeks, on a Thursday."

"Done. I'll send you the details," he said with a smile. "So what will you be up to while you're down here?"

She shrugged. "I don't know really, but I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy," she said easily.

"Well, you'll always be welcome around the studio, and if you're up for it, there are a few things I could really use your opinions on," he said with a smile.

"Sure."

I grinned, taking her hand under the table.

"So, I finally have a co-star for you," Marcus stated, shooting another look at Bella.

My stomach sank. I'm not quite sure why, but it just made me uneasy. "Oh yeah? Who'd you end up choosing?"

"Jane," he told me simply, and I stared for a moment before I could say something.

"She's a great actress. I'm sure she'll do wonderful. I've never worked with her before."

She _was_ a great actress, a _really_great one. I'd met her at a few award shows, but never really talked to her much. She was actually the top person I'd recommended from the list he'd gone over with me.

But for me, the only person that would have been able to do this role justice would have been Bella. I'd thought so since the first moment I had read it.

I knocked back the rest of my drink, and felt Bella squeeze my hand.

Just thinking about having to kiss another woman made it hard to breathe. Would this upset Bella? If anyone had ever…

The scene of that night flashed in my mind, running toward her as she sank to the ground, Victor kneeling in front of her, kissing her…

"Edward?" Bella asked quietly, her hand brushing back through my hair. I looked up at her, and even though she was perfectly fine, sitting next to me, smiling, I couldn't get the image of her bleeding everywhere, her eyes fluttering closed, and thinking that they might never open again. "Baby, what's wrong?" She asked, her voice thick with concern.

I just cupped her face in my hands and kissed her. I kissed the hell out of her. I didn't care about the crowded restaurant or our company, I just needed to make sure she was real, that this was real, that I wasn't losing my fucking mind.

I was never going to act in another film in my life after this, ever. I just couldn't handle it.

"Talk to me," she whispered, sounding close to tears. I just shook my head, because I had no clue how to explain the chaos that my mind was in.

. . . . . . . . . .

I hadn't felt like myself for the past little while. I'd never really been the jealous type, but when it came to Bella… Every time someone touched her, or even came close to touching her, I felt like I would fucking snap.

I'd come pretty damn close to having a few anxiety attacks because of it, but she was always there to calm me down.

I kept having nightmares of Victor. Him kissing her, him pulling her right from my arms in the middle of a dense crowd. Touching her.

Of Bella screaming for my help, but I could never get to her in time.

It was really starting to fuck with my head, and the only time I ever really felt calm was when I was in our apartment with her and Zeus, with the locks on the door and the safety of her secured floor.

And the worst part of it all was that it was hurting Bella too. I saw it in her eyes every time that I looked at her. She was worried about me, but it wasn't something I could talk to her about.

It made me feel weak, because what I'd seen was nothing compared to what she'd been through, and she was the one trying to comfort _me_.

I was seeing Siobhan the day we got to LA. Bella had been right, as usual. I needed to vent.

"Edward?"

I looked up from my book, my heart jumping into my throat when I saw her with her shoes on, her purse slung over her shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"I told you, I have that appointment with my tattoo artist today," she said gently, watching me worriedly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I forgot." My hands clenched into tight fists, and she set down her purse before walking over to me, and sitting down right in my lap, straddling me and taking my face in her hands. I felt myself relax when her soft lips brushed against mine.

"Have you ever seen someone get a tattoo before?" She asked, her lips moving across my jaw.

"No," I said in a deep exhale.

"You said you were thinking of getting one, would you like to come with me and check it out? See what it's like?" The tip of her tongue traced the shell of my ear, and I tightened my hold on her waist.

I knew she was probably just doing this to calm me down, comfort me, but after hearing her words I was really curious. Plus, I wanted to meet her artist, the woman who had turning my girlfriend into a beautiful canvas.

"Sure," I said with a bit of a smile. I felt myself relax as I felt the smooth skin of her waist under my fingers.

"Okay then, let's go." She shuffled off of my lap, and pulled me up to me feet. "I should warn you though, Rory is going to hit on you like crazy, and there's not much I can do about it."

I laughed, and we headed out into the beautiful weather.

. . . . .

"Angel!" The man shouted, running forward and wrapping his arms around my Bella. My fists clenched automatically as I watched him. He was wearing dark, cut-off jeans, and had a tight, sparkly, silver tank-top on. His hair was cut into a fohawk, bleached so blonde it looked almost white with red and blue star designs dyed into the sides.

And, he had tattoos. A lot of fucking tattoos. He was covered in piercings too. He had two on his eyebrow, one on the bridge of his nose, a gauged lip piercing, and more silver hoops and bars in his ears than I could count.

This was Rory? But she'd said-

He looked at me then, dropping Bella.

And then he squealed, at a frequency that would have put my sister to shame.

And then he fainted.

"Shit," Bella said, catching him on the way down. I helped her quickly, because he looked heavy, and I still worried about her lifting too much weight. I helped her carry him over to a side room, where we laid him down on this table-like bench.

I looked around, and noticed there were about four pictures of me on the walls around the room, one that I'd apparently autographed. They were all from different movies, all with my shirt off.

"Did you give him these?" I asked curiously, making Bella laugh loudly.

"Nope, he collected them all by himself," she said in an amused voice. Then it clicked.

Hmm.

"Oh my god, I knew it was a dream," he cursed, then opened his eyes. I thought they'd fall out when he saw me again, and I gave him a friendly smile.

"Hey, nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

"OHMYGOD! It was real! Shit, did I faint?" He beamed at me. "Did you_carry_ me in here?"

Oh my fucking god. This was hilarious.

"I sure did," I said with a smile, and he squealed again.

"Oh my god I am like your biggest fan! What are you doing here? Do you want a tattoo? I have a client coming in any minute but-"

"He knows Rory, I'm still right here," Bella said in an amused, dry voice. He looked at her in confusion. "And I'd appreciate it if you stopped drooling over my boyfriend."

"SHUTTHEFUCKUP!"

"You're the one who's yelling."

He looked at me, fucking pouting.

"It's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you," I said in a friendly voice, and he just seemed to melt. I was a little put off by the way his eyes roamed over me, but he seemed harmless.

"Mhmm," he said, watching me like he was waiting for me to disappear.

"Rory, stop eye fucking him," Bella said with a slight glare. He didn't take his eyes off of me.

"Your tattoo is free if he sits in here with his shirt off while I do it," he said, sounding completely fucking serious.

"No deal, I don't want your attention divided."

He sighed sadly, turning back to Bella. "Fine. Okay Angel, strip for me baby."

I choked on a cough, looking at them in disbelief. Bella rolled her eyes at me, then undid her jeans before sliding them off like it was nothing.

Okay, I didn't like this so much.

But he was staring at me, not showing any interest in my beautiful girlfriend who was sitting there in a fucking bikini bottom that tied in these little strings on the side, and I felt a little reassured.

Not that I wanted him hitting on me, it was just reassuring that he wasn't checking out _her_.

"Don't make me sit here all day half naked," she said dryly, and he sighed before turning around and getting to work. "You can come sit over here if you want baby," she told me gently, and I took her invitation, sliding up on a rolling stool next to her.

"Any changes Angel?"

"Nope."

"Awesome." He pulled a sheet of what looked like wax paper out of one of his drawers, rolling back over. He adjusted her leg, and undid the bow on one side of her bikini, before lining up the paper and transferring a stencil onto her thigh. After it was done, he took out a special marker, and started to make a few changes and adjustments to the design. "How's that?"

"Looks good."

"I won't be able to finish in two hours, but I have a cancellation right after you. Four, four and a half and I can finish it for you today if you're up for it."

She pursed her lips for a moment. "Is that okay with you? I wasn't planning on taking that long," she said, looking up at me.

"I don't mind," I told her honestly.

"Okay, go for it then," she said lightly, and I watched as Rory starting setting up his needles and ink.

The buzzing was loud, and ominous. I watched, not able to bring myself to look away, as he brought the tattoo gun to her skin and started his work. I winced at first, but Bella just sat there comfortably, her arms folded behind her head looking completely at ease.

"Does it hurt?"

"Nope."

"What does it feel like?"

"Hmm… a vibrating sunburn." I laughed, because that was a fucking weird description. "The healing hurts more than the actual process, the needles don't go very deep."

I didn't get bored, though Bella looked about ready to nod off a few times. I watched in awe as he joined the tattoo on her hip to the one on her thigh, blending clouds of different colours together to create the most stunning collage. The blood made me uncomfortable, but it was nothing like… that night, so I didn't freak out. It was just odd.

Bella seemed fine until about three and a half hours in, when she started getting queasy and asked to stop for a short break. She assured me it was fine, normal, that it just started to upset her stomach a little bit, but after our short recess he got right back to it, and Bella let me hold her hand while he did so.

The end result was even more impressive than I thought it would be. I had never been that big on tattoos, but on her… I think it made a really big difference, knowing that there was meaning behind each of them, and what those meanings were. But combined with Rory's impressive talent, and just her… she was so fucking beautiful.

He wrapped up her tattoo, and she was a little shaky as she pulled her pants back on.

"So, is that it then? Were you thinking about, you know, the shots…"

"No, the scars are barely noticeable, and they're… different. This is it for me Rory, but it's been fun."

His eyes watered, and he crushed her in a tight hug. "Come back and visit in a couple weeks, once they're healed."

"Actually… I'll be in LA for the next few months, but I'll come visit when we come back."

"And promise you'll bring your man candy back with you?" He said in a whining pout. I laughed.

"I'll be back, I've been thinking of getting something of my own done, and I already know your work is amazing," I said with a wink.

. . . . . . . . . .

The next couple weeks were hectic. We were packing things up, getting ready for our extended trip, setting up our new house from a different state, but I was also practically living at Emmett's gym, paying him to beat the shit out of me every day in preparation for the movie. I needed to put on about fifteen pounds, and by the time I got back to the apartment on that last day, I just wanted to whine and fall asleep because I thought my body was on fire and about to just fall apart at any moment. Everything fucking hurt.

After giving Bella a kiss on the head, I navigated my way through the Labrynth of boxes and dropped face first into the bed.

"Rough day at the gym?" She asked lightly, and I felt the bed dip as she crawled over.

"I figured out what he was doing."

"Huh?"

"Your brother. I figured out what he's doing. He was trying to kill me, so I wouldn't be able to take you to LA. I'm damn sure of it." She laughed, and I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up into a smile. "Everything fucking hurts, I don't think I'll be able to make it to the airport."

"What hurts most?"

"Shoulders," I mumbled into the sheets.

The bed moved again, and I felt Bella straddle my waist, sitting on me lightly. I groaned as her hands slid slowly up my back, with just the perfect fucking amount of pressure, then slid out over my shoulders. I was putty in her hands as she worked out every knot and tight muscle, until I like a felt like a pile of goo and just passed out on the bed underneath her.

. . . . . . . . .

It had been an emotional send off. Everyone came to the private airport with us; Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rose, and my parents. There were hugs shared, tears shed, but we told them we'd be back to visit for a couple days in a month, for my sister's wedding, before the three of us, Bella, Zeus, and I, loaded up on the small private plane. Another perk of Marcus' generous offer was that we could pack as much as we wanted, and not have to ship it off separately. Everything we were taking with us was in the cargo hold.

Zeus was not comfortable in the slightest being on the plane, and Bella gave him something to help him sleep that she'd gotten from the vet the other day. It made him all groggy, and I ended up carrying him over to the truck I had waiting for us in LA.

"Nice rental," Bella said in approval as she patted the hood.

"It's not a rental," I said, loading Zeus in the back seat before I helped her start unloading boxes into the truck bed.

"Edward-"

"Baby, we needed a vehicle, it would have been stupid to rent something for four months," I said logically.

Well, that, and I just really liked the truck. I felt like I was driving a tank when I was inside it.

Bella just shook her head with a smile.

It was about an hour drive to the house, but it looked amazing. We'd done our shopping online, and everything had been delivered and set up last week before we got here. I had the cleaning service, gardeners, and alarm systems already set up. I wanted to take her out for dinner, but she was so excited about trying out the new kitchen. I caved quickly, because she also never seemed completely comfortable while eating at a restaurant.

I figured it was something she just needed to get used to, it would get better with time.

So we had an amazing barbeque in our back yard, and after Zeus shook off his medication he was on cloud nine, running around like a deer in the giant yard. I was actually pretty good on the grill, which was weird since I was pretty much useless inside a kitchen, and we relaxed and enjoyed our first night in our new home with a delicious dinner and a few bottles of wine, and we both passed out completely exhausted in our new giant bed after thoroughly breaking it in.

. . . . . . . . . .

We only had a few days to ourselves before work started up, but Bella was like a niece to Mac, and he was completely serious it turned out when he said he wanted her on set. More than that, really. Bella had seemed so nervous a few weeks ago when she told me that Mac had offered her a job. She had this ridiculous notion that I'd be uncomfortable with her working on my movie. I was ecstatic.

So, Zeus was allowed too. I thought it was funny, the way most people shied away from him. Yeah, he was huge, but he was just a big puppy. All he wanted to do was give kisses and have his belly rubbed. We got in early on that first day, and took our time to explore the studio together before I dragged her along with me to my first meeting. She didn't need to be there, but was indulging me by letting me parade her around. That, and she was keeping my schedule organized for me.

She didn't care if I was lazy, she fucking loved me.

Close to a dozen tables were pushed together in the large-ass conference room, and I went around, introducing Bella to everyone. She was uncomfortable with the fact that she'd become sort of famous since that first night that I took her out for that damned dinner. Her picture was on almost every tabloid, a lot of them without me even with her.

Her plan had worked though. She'd let a few things slip, just enough for the press to find out about "Bree." They were going wild for pictures of the well-praised self-defence teacher, security consultant, business investor and retired procurer from the New York Historical Society.

So I was introducing her as Bree, which was kind of weird, but everyone already knew her name. They were a little surprised that Marcus wanted her on staff, but her presence wasn't questioned much after that.

It was only the last introduction that made me uneasy, because I didn't really know her much myself.

"Hey Jane," I said politely, holding out my hand to shake hers. She gave me a sweet smile.

"It's nice to see you again Edward, I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Likewise," I told her, with the weirdest feeling in my gut. She seemed like a nice person though. She had dark brown hair that went just past her shoulders, and eyes so dark brown that they looked almost black. She was about the same size as Bella, a couple inches taller and a few years older. "Jane, this is my girlfriend Bree, she's working as a consultant for Marcus on the film."

"It's nice to meet you," she said with a big grin, and shook Bella's hand enthusiastically. Bella gave her a small, polite smile.

"You too. I've seen a few of your films, you've done some great work."

"Thanks," she said, and there was a moment of silence.

Zeus was glaring daggers at the woman, but he sat and calmed when Bella's hand moved through his fur.

Bella smiled when Jane looked at him warily, and Marcus called the room to attention, telling us to take our assigned seats.

That first day was spent going over introductions, because a lot of changes had been made in the time since the casting party. After that, it took hours to go over the lengthy schedule. Bella had given me the copy she'd done up with notes for me, and was making notes and changes to both of them to accommodate the changes Marcus had made.

We were in that damn room for fourteen hours.

"I need a cigarette," Bella whispered, making me grin.

"You don't smoke baby."

"I'd pick it up if it meant getting out of this room for ten minutes."

I coughed to cover my laugh, catching the attention of a few before I grinned and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek.

. . . . . . . . . .

"So, you'll be in conference room D running lines with group one today," Bella reminded me as she stepped out of the shower. I was a little distracted, because she was naked and dripping wet, and I just kind of hummed. She looked at me with a knowing grin.

"Which conference room Edward?"

"Huh, oh, one."

"No, that's your group, you're in-" I cut off her words, stealing the air from her lungs with a kiss as I backed her into the shower once more.

I'd had a 'towel bar' installed, just like our one at home, and we were damn close to being late by the time we got to the studio. Bella walked me over to the conference room, and I froze when she said she'd see me later.

"Where are you going off to?"

"I've got some work of my own to do, I'm not going to sit and listen to you run lines for the next three days," she said with a smirk.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was trying to, but you interrupted me," she said, stretching up on her toes as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I just picked her up, holding her at my eye level. "Not that I minded, I definitely enjoyed it," she said in a sultry voice.

Fuck, I didn't want to let her go.

But we both had to work apparently, and I sighed before kissing the hell out of her and setting her back down.

"When will I see you?"

"You have an hour lunch at one, I'll be on set three then if you want to stop by, but we'll both be pretty busy until around seven."

"I'll come stop by," I told her, like I had a choice. I didn't like the idea of her being around strangers, in this new place. But things had gotten a bit better after my two sessions with Sib so far, and she did have Zeus with her.

"Watch out for your mom for me, okay boy?" I told him, ruffling his fur. He barked happily at me, and Bella rolled her eyes before the two of them took off.

. . . . . . . . . .

The time went by pretty quickly actually. Jane was pretty fun to hang out with, and I found that we got along really well. She was a sweet girl. When they called for lunch, she asked if I wanted to go out to grab something, but I told her I was going to just grab something in studio on my way to check in on B. It was just easier for me to stick with her nickname, since I really didn't like calling her Bree. She decided to tag along when I offered.

There was a pretty big crowd in the studio, people were cheering, and though the music was loud I could still hear the soft thumping of someone hitting something else. I ran through the crowd, my stomach sinking, and Jane was right on my heels.

I froze when I saw what all of the commotion was about, grinning when I realized _what_ Bella was consulting on.

She was in the center of the fighting matt with a man that was at least a foot taller than her, a few years older, and ripped like fuck. He was wearing no more than a pair of shorts, sparring with Bella who was wearing a pair of tiny black shorts, and a white tank top with her hair in a ponytail. They both had headgear on at least.

She deflected and weaved through his hits effortlessly, not making any offensive hits of her own. She looked like she was talking him through it, but I couldn't hear what either of them were saying, and she had a sort of taunting look and teasing smile on her face.

But then Zeus barked and ran over to me. Bella looked up and saw me, and she faltered for a second, and the man's hand went right for her throat.

I almost panicked, but the crowd erupted in cheers as she grabbed onto his arm with both hands, and lifted herself right the fuck off the ground as she wrapped her legs around his arm, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. They rolled, and Bella had him pinned on his back, holding his arm with both her legs and her hands in a painful looking position as she sat on his chest. She held him like that for a moment, and it looked like she was pissed as she spoke to him, but then she laughed, and helped the man up a moment later before calling for a break. She waved me over as she picked up a towel and wiped at her face.

"Hey baby, how were lines?" She asked, breathing heavily. I just walked right up to her though, and wrapped my arms around her as I kissed her. "Edward! I'm all sweaty," she laughed, trying to push me away. I just held her tighter, smiling against her lips.

"Mmm, I know," I growled back, and she shivered against me before pushing me away, giving me _the look._

"Edward, this is your stunt double, Mike Newton," she said, and I gave him a friendly smile.

"I hope she didn't beat you up too badly," I said with a smirk.

"Bah, I'm used to it," he said easily. I looked at them in confusion.

"Err, we fought in a couple competitions when I was younger," she said, before giving Jane a friendly smile. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Good," she said a little quietly. "You're, like, really good at that."

The smile Bella gave her was brilliant. "Why thank you. Have you ever taken self-defence lessons?" Jane shook her head. "I teach them occasionally at a gym in New York. If you ever want a lesson, let me know. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next while." Bella shot her a wink, and Jane fidgeted.

Mike came back and tossed Bella a bottle of water, which she caught easily and immediately inhaled. I felt a little bad for distracting her from her break, and was worried as shit to let her go back to what she was doing now that I knew what it was. I knew she wasn't in any danger, dad had cleared her a month ago, but I was really worried she was pushing herself too far.

"You ready to go back to it?"

"Yeah, we'll take it from the top, no more playing," she said, turning back to me and giving me an apologetic smile.

"You sure your stomach is okay for this?" I asked her gently. I immediately saw her restraint at trying not to glare at me, but her hands did curl into tight fists at her sides.

"I'm fine," she told me quietly, and she was really trying hard at keeping the anger out of her voice.

"What's wrong with your stomach?" Mike asked worriedly, then his eyes went wide. "You're not pregnant are you? Cause dude, I can't-"

"No," Bella said, her voice hard. "It's nothing like that. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later Edward." She turned away without looking at me, and Mike gave me an apologetic grin that did not look sincere in the slightest.

"Um, maybe we should get back," Jane said, giving me an understanding smile. I was still kind of in shock about what had happened in like, thirty fucking seconds.

I was at war with myself, because I knew Bella was sensitive as hell about the fact she couldn't have children, and to have had that question thrown at her would have hurt. I wanted to comfort her, but she was obviously pissed at me and wanted me to leave her alone right now.

So I just nodded to Jane, and we turned and walked back to the room we'd been running lines in, grabbing some lunch on the way.

. . . . . . . . . .

She was waiting for me outside with Zeus when I finished. We hadn't even noticed the time, and I felt like shit for being over an hour late. She just smiled at me though, and I did too in relief as I walked over. I pulled her up by her hand, and just wrapped my arms around her and held her.

She held me back tightly, which just made me feel worse.

Because when I'd first gotten back to work, I had gotten pissed off. Really, really fucking pissed. Mad that she hadn't told me what sort of work she would be doing. And I still didn't really know. Why was she training with Newton? Was there another actress she was training too? What else would she be doing?

Then I wondered if she had purposely kept it from me, even though she swore when she woke up that she'd never keep something from me again. But as I thought about that, I'd kind of figured out that it was something worse.

I'd never even asked.

And I really couldn't blame her for not bringing it up, because she'd never been really good at talking about herself. It was just something she missed out on a lot growing up, because all she had for so long was Emmett. She _couldn't_ just talk about herself. She was good at answering questions, and whenever I asked her something she'd tell me every single detail that she could think of. I knew that, so I couldn't hold it against her.

"I love you," I whispered into her hair.

She squeezed me tighter. "I love you too, but…"

I froze and pulled her away so I could see her, and she was grinning up at me.

"I'd love you even more if you fed me."

As if on cue, her stomach growled in the silence of the small lot, and Zeus barked as if to agree.

I laughed and kissed her, and we all walked over to the truck, piling in together.

"How does steak sound?" I asked hopefully, because I could really go for a nice big steak.

"Oh my god, that sounds amazing," she said in a dreamy voice. "We don't have any at home though, and Zeus can't go into a restaurant. Grocery store?"

"Sounds good, I know one with a really good butcher."

We made the drive, luckily it was on the way home, and Bella went in on her own while I sat with Zeus. I didn't really argue with her on that one, because I knew she was very meticulous about picking out food. She came back out fifteen minutes later, looking very uncomfortable. I got out and grabbed her bags for her, loading them in the back with Zeus, and then hopped up in the cabin again. She usually let me drive the truck, just because I found it hilarious to see her drive the gigantic thing and had a hard time keeping the smile off of my face when she did.

"What happened?" I asked before pulling out, titling her face up with a finger under her chin to face me. She chewed on her lip for a moment before answering.

"I just met a complete stranger, who seems to genuinely hate me because I _'stole you from the world,'_" she said, making the ending sound as dramatic as possible. I could tell she wasn't joking in the slightest though, and was just trying to make light of it. I sighed.

"Sorry baby, there are a lot of crazies out there," I said, wincing at my own words. Bella just laughed though, choosing not to say anything about that. I grinned. "It's why I stay away from the internet, some of that shit freaks me out."

She laughed. "You know, when you first came to New York and I looked into you, I looked to see if you had a Facebook account like your sister. The only one there though was obviously fan-made." Her smile turned gentle, and she ran her fingers through my hair. "Even when I was trying to hate you, I liked having something in common with you."

I grinned, leaning in and softly brushing my lips against hers as I spoke. "And how long did you try to hate me for, Ms. Swan?"

"Months," She breathed. "But I couldn't do it."

"Why? What made you stop?" My voice was barely more than a breath, the loudest noise in the cabin was Zeus' heavy breathing in the backseat, which I tried to ignore.

"It was too hard, and I hated hurting you. It was painful." She swallowed loudly. "I loved you, everything about you. It was impossible to hate you."

I kissed her hard, stealing her breath as I pulled her against me on the bench. Her arms wrapped around me tightly, and I almost pulled her into my lap before the bright flash caught my attention.

We both froze, before looking out the window to the smiling photographer. He waved.

And Bella burst out laughing.

It was impossible not to join her, and we both waved back to the photographer before heading home.

. . .

It was a hard choice, deciding what I wanted to do first, her or steak, but I'd kept her waiting so long after work and she was obviously starving.

Besides, she'd need the energy. I chuckled to myself.

"What are you laughing about?" She asked with a suspicious grin, stirring her fucking-amazing peppercorn sauce on the side burner of the barbeque as I flipped the steaks.

"That I need to feed you before I drag you inside so you have enough energy," I said, looking over her hungrily. She laughed.

"You're really sweet when you want to be, you know that?" She said with a grin. I smiled back, but her comment just brought me back to my earlier realization. I didn't ask about her enough, and she kind of needed me to. She always asks about me, she always wants to know. I wondered if it hurt, if she thought that I _didn't_ care.

Because I really, really did, I wanted to know every bit of her. I just knew that a lot of her life was hard for her, and was wary about making her talk about things that were difficult.

_Just ask her._

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, her index finger looping through a belt loop on my jeans. I looked at her worriedly.

"Is it hard for you to talk about your past with me?"

She fidgeted. "Sometimes, not often though. Just about… him." She smiled at me. "You're just easier for me to talk to for some reason. Always have been."

Her words actually made me flinch. I felt even worse about it now, but she took it the wrong way.

"I'm sorry, I try not to talk about it, I know you don't want to-"

"Please, just, stop," I said, barely able to fucking breathe with her apologizing for it. I wanted to hug her but I didn't feel like I deserved to, but Bella looked like she was about to panic too and I couldn't let her think that I didn't _want_ to hold her.

So I pulled her against my chest and held onto her for dear life, because that's what she was. All that really mattered.

She made me feel alive like no one else ever could.

"Please say something," she cried into my shirt.

"I love you so god damn much. I love every piece of you, I want to know every story, every scrape, every smile and every tear. I want to know everything you love and everything you hate and even the things you think don't even deserve an opinion. I want to know your every thought and every dream, and I want to be there and help you achieve every one, and watch you smile as you do because it's the most fucking important thing in the world to me. I want to know everything Bella, don't ever doubt that."

I had to swallow hard to clear my throat, at a loss to how to put it into words. None of them felt like enough.

"But I don't feel like I deserve you. I feel like I'm constantly doing something wrong, and that you deserve better than this-"

"No," She cried, clinging to me tightly. "You've never done _anything_ wrong, not one god damn single time. I don't know how you can't see how amazing you are. I don't want _anything_ Edward, I just want _you_."

I cupped her face in my hands and looked at her, and could see in those beautiful brown eyes that she meant every word as I swiped away her tears.

"Please don't break up with me," she whispered with watering eyes.

Damn it.

I really sucked at this shit sometimes.

"No baby, _never_. That's not what I meant at all," I assured her painfully. Was it really possible that I scared her as much as she did me? The painful relief in her eyes was all the confirmation I needed.

I kissed her, hard, my left hand cupping the back of her neck possessively, my fingers tying into her hair as my tongue and lips took control of hers. She moaned lightly into my mouth, her hands gripping tightly onto my shirt.

I reached for my wallet in my back pocket, but forced myself to stop. Not like this, not when she was worried, or after the day we had.

Not until we were done with filming. That was the plan.

I really fucking hated my plan right now, but I had it for reasons.

"Fuck, Edward," she said, and I grinned.

"That's the idea," I said with a grin, kissing her neck.

"No, Edward, the steaks are on fire," she half moaned.

I took one quick second to turn off the grill, then shut the lid on the barbeque.

"Screw dinner," I growled, picking her up and carrying her inside to our room as she fucking giggled. She didn't argue at all.

. . . . . . . . .

**Okay, so… I know a lot of you wanted to see Bella co-star, but it just didn't seem plausible, even though this is fiction. She's still trying to hide who she really is while under a bright Hollywood spotlight. That being said though… there are a lot of things that haven't been said yet.**

_*Puts on glasses and crosses her legs, holding up her clipboard and pen.*_**So, how does that make you feel?**

**And what do you think about her new job?**

**Edward is having some issues coping now that his Bella is out in the open too, can you really blame him though? He'd started to get used to living with Bella, hiding behind their secrecy. He's working on it though.**

**And what do you think of Jane? And Mike? And what about Marcus himself? And then there was Rory...**

**Take care till next time lovelies.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I love that you loved Rory! Thanks for the reviews guys :) If you were closer, I'd give you all some of the peanut butter cookies I just baked. But you're not, so I guess I'll just have to eat them myself…**

**Song: Money Maker – The Black Keys**

. . . . . . . . . .

"So, what's on your schedule today?" I asked, trying to bite back my yawn. Bella had needed to practically drag me out of bed this morning, I had no idea how late we had stayed up.

And I still had no idea how my slightly-insomniac girlfriend even functioned. Seriously, I loved her beyond all reason, but I think she might be some sort of witch.

"Working with Mike again, it's going to be like that for the next couple weeks," she said over a mouthful of food. I almost felt guilty for ruining dinner last night. Almost. She was on her third breakfast sandwich… which I'm pretty sure was mine.

"Are you eating my sandwich?"

"Yes. You owe me for not feeding me last night."

I sighed, and she grinned, holding out my sandwich and letting me take a bite. I laughed before conceding, taking the biggest bite I could and winking when she scowled at me.

"What is it exactly that you're doing with Mike?"

My heart sank when she beamed at me, looking so fucking happy that I was asking.

"Well, my 'official' title is stunt choreographer. There are six scenes that he's doing for you, and they total about four and a half minutes. So what I'm doing right now is choreographing the moves for the fight scenes. First I show Mike the moves he's supposed to do, and then afterwards he practices them against me. Then it's doing the same thing with Jane's stunt double, and then I'll be showing the extras their moves, playing Mike's and Jane's parts against them before I supervise them doing the moves together. Once they have them down it's redoing them at the location shoots and in the green rooms. It's kind of a crazy amount of work for such a small end result," she said with a laugh.

"Is that everything that you're going to be doing for the film?"

"Well, just those six scenes are going to take a few weeks if my students don't give me any problems, which is when we start doing location shoots. And Cloe, Jane's double, has a little more running time than he does. Then it's just supervising the actual scenes and making them match properly with your parts. I'm not expecting there to be any problems with Mike though, he's good. I've never worked with Cloe before but she has a pretty impressive resume."

"What you were doing yesterday didn't seem like any parts of the script."

She laughed. "No, not really. He was being whiney, said he wanted a rematch from when I kicked his butt when I was sixteen. So I gave it to him. He almost thought he had me for a moment when you distracted me," she said with a smile, which disappeared quickly. "The rest of it isn't nearly as intense as what you saw the other day. I'm sorry for worrying you, and for snapping at you, it's just… I just wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it, and it was nice practicing with someone who didn't look at me like I'd been shot."

"I'm sorry I didn't ask beforehand. I should have talked about it with you, I've just… things have been so crazy lately, I feel like we haven't had any time to just… _be_." And that was the damn truth. We were barely a week into this thing and I was already going through some serious withdrawals.

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault. I'm trying, it's just… I'm just not used to talking to people about what I do with my time. It's just really… I don't know. Sib calls it 'censoring.' I'm working on it."

I grinned, hearing her pick up on the nickname.

"Censoring?"

She fidgeted a bit in her seat, looking extremely uncomfortable, but answered me anyways. "Angela was the only real friend I had growing up besides Emmett. I told her everything, but after… I couldn't bring myself to do it again, with another person. Besides, there _was_ no one else. I had my dad and Emmett. I couldn't just… bring someone in and tell them what had happened. There was too much that could get out, it wasn't just not safe for them but for my family either. It never was. We never stayed anywhere longer than a few weeks after we left Forks, I couldn't make any friends, and I just got… used to keeping things to myself. It was a necessity, and it just became the norm I guess. It's weird not having to do it. Even in New York, I had all these different jobs, but I wasn't myself in any of them, but someone different in all of them, and I had to keep them all separate. It's a hard habit to break, not having to keep my personal life and my professional life separated."

These were things I had speculated, or figured out just from spending time with her, but to hear her actually be able to talk about it… I saw that as a lot of progress. At the same time though, I could see when she didn't want to talk about certain things, just by the look in her eyes, but she always did anyways. I'm pretty sure she was too scarred by her own guilt from her previous secrets to really deny me anything. Not even to put up a fight about it. She just forced herself to answer.

I hated it, but didn't know what to say about it either. This was Bella's way of trying to let me know her, to communicate her feelings with me. She was trying so fucking hard to let me all the way in.

I pulled into a parking spot before clicking her belt buckle and pulling her to my side, kissing her gently as I cupped the side of her face. When I pulled away slightly, I watched her eyes for a moment before I spoke. I had a tendency of getting lost in them.

"Never the less, I still should have asked, and I'm sorry I didn't. I _want_ to know these things, everything. I just want you to know that. I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said with a smile, and leaned into kiss me again. She was still smiling when she pulled away.

"Will I be able to see you at all today?" I asked, still not loosening my hold on her. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.

"I have a long lunch today… maybe I could bring you something?"

I grinned brightly. "I'd love that."

She looked a little relieved, which made me wonder just how hard it was for her to ask me little things like this. Still. I was starting to see a pattern really, it was like she was afraid to interrupt, or impose.

"Okay, well your break is scheduled for one, I'll come by then."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We parted ways, but I turned to take one last look at her before heading into my building, and shot her a wink when she did the same only seconds after I had turned. That little bit of a blush that only I was able to bring out in her had me grinning all the way down to my conference room.

"Good morning Edward," Jane said cheerfully with a smile as I walked into the room. We were the first two there, and I knew it would be something I would have to get used to. Bella was an '_If you're not fifteen minutes early, then you're fifteen minutes late'_ sort of person. It didn't really bother me, I just would have preferred to spend that extra fifteen minutes making out with her in my truck.

"Morning Jane," I said with a smile, dropping down into my chair and taking out my phone to check my schedule for the day. I saw the buffet table and jumped back up, grabbing a banana, then a croissant, and grapes are always awesome, and then a plate was necessary. Then since I had the room, I grabbed a muffin too.

Now that I didn't have Bella distracting me anymore, I was fucking starving. I didn't even care if I was going to want a nap afterwards. Besides, I was still supposed to put on another three pounds, but it wasn't like Marcus was fucking weighing me. And I looked pretty awesome right now, if I did say so myself.

Never thought I'd be a morning person, but shit changes.

"You seem to be in a cheerier mood today," she mused, and I almost thought I heard a hint of disappointment in her voice. "… And hungry, apparently." I watched her face closely as I replied.

"I am."

"So things are okay between you and Bree?"

"They always were." I was confident enough in my sexuality to inhale that banana.

"She seems… nice."

I laughed. "That would depend on who you asked, but I wouldn't have her any other way." Croissants are better with cheese…

"How did you meet?"

It was moments like this when I was kind of relieved that she was still using her old alias. I didn't have to make up a lie.

"She helped out my sister, and was an investor in my cousin's company."

She nodded, pursing her lips, and Marcus came into the room, greeting us cheerfully before quickly being joined by a few of the other actors we'd be running lines with today. I made quick work of my breakfast, and we settled in for a long six hours of rehearsing lines and skimming through the script, separating shots and scenes, where we'd overlap with doubles, and I got lost in my old world.

. . .

"Would you like to join us at the restaurant?" Marcus asked with a clap to my shoulder and a smile. I smiled back at him.

"No thanks, I already have some plans."

"Hot date?" He asked with a wink. I laughed.

"Understatement, Marcus."

"Sweet talker," Bella said, walking into the room with a smile, Zeus at her side. I winked at her, and would have pulled her in for a kiss if Marcus hadn't intercepted me and pulled her in for a hug.

"Having fun on the matts?"

"Always Mac. You going to join me some time?"

"Sorry sweetheart, I value my life, and my hip."

She laughed, and kissed him on the cheek. I caught Jane giving them a slight frown, but she quickly covered it with her sweet smile.

It gave me a slightly uneasy feeling.

One that I didn't brush aside. I was going to keep an eye on her. I walked over to Bella, wrapping an arm around her waist as she waved goodbye to the others.

Zeus huffed, and I laughed before scratching his ears.

"It's beautiful out, do you want to eat outside?" She asked with a smile. I grinned back.

"That sounds perfect."

And it really was. We rolled out a blanket in the bed of our truck, and had a little picnic outside in the sun.

. . . . . . . . . .

We drove in early, dropping off the car and going for a run around the studio lot with Zeus. We were still working on building some sort of routine, not an easy thing to do when you work by a schedule that changes by the day. We'd always loved running together though, it was the first real activity we'd ever done together and it was something we wanted to keep up.

"The scenery's kind of boring," I noted after a few minutes. Lots of big buildings, not enough trees. It was nice, but not therapeutic sort of nice like running laps around the lake at Central Park.

"It's better than having those photographers following us though," she said with a smirk. "And it's too nice out to be stuffed inside that gym."

I nodded. "We could try _driving_ to the beach next time, might be able to lose those photographers."

She smiled brightly. "That sounds like a great idea." I knew she was still uneasy about the few reporters that had been following us around, though she wouldn't say it aloud. It was probably going to take her a little while to get used to having her picture taken I think.

"They'll get bored soon and back off," I assured her. "It won't always be like this, once the novelty wears off, and something else comes along, they'll move on. They always do." I'd been through this over and over through the years. They pick up on the movie, chase you around to get pictures for their articles about it, try to get some details from you, fade off, then come back for the buzz when the film is about to release, and stick around until the next big thing come out. Sometimes they'll hound for a bit with a new romance like this, but it usually dies back down after a few weeks. Bella, or 'Bree' was a new name and a mystery though, which is probably why they were still at it.

She nodded, but still looked uneasy.

I liked this, I had never been fond of talking while running, but I always wanted to talk to her. I knew she was the same way, we only really listened to music if we were on the treadmills these days. Besides, this was a bit of a relaxed pace for me. Not that I'd say it aloud, but I was in a better shape than her right now. All that time with Emmett had really paid off. That, and she was short.

Also something I'd never say to her aloud.

"So, day three of recording. Are you enjoying it so far?"

"It's… yeah. It's okay," I told her.

"But?"

I didn't know what exactly it was, let alone how to word my discomfort. I asked her a question of my own instead.

"Have you done a background check on Jane?"

It was a moment before she answered. "No, I've been trying to avoid that stuff."

"Stuff?"

"The background checks, the hacking, the monitoring… my 'obsessive habits' as Sib calls them. She thinks they're some outlet for a need for control, a coping mechanism to deal with my trust issues."

She looked a little embarrassed admitting it, but I was so happy that she was able to talk to me about this stuff at all, and gave her a reassuring smile.

And I agreed with Sib a hundred percent on it. If she kept living with those habits, those crutches, she'll just grow more dependent on them. But still…

"That must be hard," I noted. "How are you feeling about it?"

"Worried. It feels wrong. I wanted to keep my search program going, just to see if anyone uses my… you know, other name. To give me a heads up if anyone finds out, but to do that I'd have to get into the e-mails for everyone here and… I guess I see what she meant when she told me that it would just make it harder to stop if I tried to keep that." Her voice trailed off quietly, and I nodded. I got what she was trying to say, there wasn't a partial way to go about it, so she had to give the entire thing up. "I can though, I'm just trying not to do it to every person I meet like before, so if you're concerned about something she's doing I can-"

"No, she hasn't really done anything," I assured her. I was happy she was working on that, and I'd be damned if I was going to set back her progress. "I guess I just don't really trust her. She seems nice and everything, there's just this really, I don't know… fake quality about her?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean. She does _not_ like me," Bella said with a bit of a laugh, and I was a little surprised.

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm good at reading people, and that woman's been giving me the evil eye every time I've brought you lunch this week when she thinks I'm not looking." She shot me a smirk. "I think she _likes_ you," she teased, and I laughed.

"Then I hope she enjoys disappointment."

Bella gave me a loving smile, before concentrating on her path once more.

"If something comes up and you want me to look into her, just let me know."

"I will," I assured her. And I would, but for now there really wasn't any reason to go to that extreme. "And how are things going with Mike and Cloe?"

"Awesome," she said happily. "It's been pretty easy, actually. They know what they're doing and are good at following directions. I've gone over all the scenes with Marcus, so I have it all pictured in my mind and… I love it. It's been really fun so far, having the resources to just build what I see in my mind."

The smile on her face and the excitement in her voice as she said that… well, I was just a tiny bit jealous. Because I had a hard time getting into the scenes with Jane. Everyone else so far, I loved it. I wasn't the same man I had been during my last movie, not even close, but I still loved the work. She made me a little uncomfortable though, or just exasperated maybe. The way she was always leaning into me whenever she spoke to me annoyed me, and the effort it took to contain my irritation sort of sucked the fun out of it I guess.

I didn't want to give Bella the wrong idea and possibly worry her though. I was thrilled that she was enjoying working here, that she was just _happy_ here. I had worried that taking her away from New York might have set back her progress, but she seemed to be doing a _lot_ better since coming here. It was a noticeable difference to me, and I don't think it was even just her therapy. I think the change of scenery was doing wonders for her healing process.

Sib was obviously doing some good work too though. Bella and I were still working on our communication problems, but it was getting a little easier to get her to open up about her feelings.

"You know, I was thinking about what I was going to do for work, when we get back to New York," she started, getting my full attention.

"Oh yeah? What were you thinking?"

"Well, now that I can just stick to one thing, and work as many hours as I want… I was thinking about teaching my classes full time."

I smiled brightly. "I think you'd be great at that," I said honestly. That, and I knew that she'd love it. She told me once that if she could, she would want to do it full time. Now she could, if she wanted to. "Would you have enough clientele to do something like that full time?"

"I think so. I kept it small before just because of my availability, that and because Garett works at the gym, and I didn't trust him, and had him believing that I lived in Chicago so I had to be cautious about running into him. All of my students before came from personal recommendation and word of mouth."

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah, most of them were either from support groups that I'd sponsored, people I'd met and offered them to, and people that were referred to me by previous students. It wasn't something I advertised."

"Have I met this Garett guy?"

"Yeah, he was one of Em's groom's men." It was getting a little harder for her to talk through her efforts, but we were almost done.

"Why didn't you trust him?"

"Just made me uncomfortable, he was always checking me out."

Yeah, I remembered him now. He'd been sitting at the bar when I'd had a drink with Bella that night. I hadn't liked the way he looked at her either.

I was aware that I was biased though. I didn't like anyone looking at her.

We slowed to a jog, and then a walk as we passed our starting point. I tried not to ogle her too much, the way the sun caught and sparkled on the sheen of sweat covering her face and neck, and the way her thin, white shirt clung to her damp skin, hinting at her tattoos underneath… Yeah, I was staring.

She loved it, though I doubt she'd admit it. She knew what she did to me.

I was grinning as I pulled her into my changing room with me, and she pounced as soon as the door was locked. Our clothes were abandoned in a trail of destruction as I walked her backwards into my bathroom and shower.

I couldn't lie and say that we were trying to conserve water by sharing, because we were in there for a while.

. . .

I went over to today's set, meeting up with Marcus and the others that I was shooting with today. We spent two hours reading through, then it was going through wardrobe and make-up. The first two scenes went well with few takes, and we broke for lunch. Bella was too busy to come by today, and I stayed with Marcus, whose wife Didi came by to join him, Jane, and Adam and Joshua, who'd I'd just finished shooting with. Those two practically inhaled their food and ran off to another set though, then Marcus had to make some phone calls, and I was left with Jane.

Fuck, I didn't get a good feeling from the way she was looking at me. I knew that look.

This could make shit awkward.

I took out my phone and started up a game of Tetris as I grabbed another sandwich.

My attempt at being antisocial was sabotaged as she moved over to the chair next to mine.

"Whatcha playing?"

Manners. Polite, I can be polite.

"Tetris."

"You know… we probably have a good half hour before they come back," she said in a low voice, looking up at me from below her lashes. Fake lashes, we were still in costume, though she'd taken out her contacts.

"Yeah, so?"

"The door has a lock on it." I'm sure her smile was meant to be seductive, but it had the entire opposite effect on me.

I tried not to snap at her though; I was stuck with her for the next four months.

"I have a girlfriend Jane," I warned, my voice a curt. She wasn't deterred though, and just smiled, leaning in and placing her hand on my thigh.

"That's okay, I can keep a secret."

Done.

I removed her hand. "Well, you won't have to. I'm not interested." She frowned, scowling almost as I got up, taking my sandwich with me and going for a walk to clear my head.

This was going to make shit awkward, hopefully she'd back off though. I was uneasy as I made my way back to our set twenty minutes later.

She acted like nothing had happened. She was just like she had been yesterday, but now every time she got a little too close, leaned against me, touched me, I knew exactly why, and had a migraine by the time we called it quits for the day from trying not to snap at her.

Bella immediately noticed my bad mood of course, walking up right when Marcus called cut. I pulled her against me, and I think I caught her off guard when I kissed the hell out of her. I felt my tension dissolve as I held her, her hands slipping into my hair, and didn't spare Jane a glance as we said goodnight to Marcus and I got out of my suit.

Bella sat on my couch and watched with a smile as I got changed, but she could look as long as she wanted to. By the time we got to the truck, my previous mood was completely forgotten.

"Is everything okay?" She asked gently, once I pulled out of my spot.

"Yeah baby, just a long day," I said with a smile, pulling her hand up to my lips and kissing her knuckles, and her fingers threaded through mine as I rested our hands on my thigh.

I needed her to concentrate on herself, there was no need to stress her out with Jane. I could handle her. We picked up dinner on the way home, and not long after we ate and cleaned up, I fell asleep with a smile, Bella snuggled up against me in bed while we watched a movie.

This, right here, was not only all I needed, it was all I _wanted_. Jane would figure that out and back off.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Hey guys. The lengths for the rest of the chapters are going to be varying… just because it feels better that way. I feel so, so close to being finished… I'm just trying not to rush it.**

**Should he have told Bella about Jane's flirting? Or do you think he was right in saying it would just needlessly worrying or upset her?**

**Oh, and a small note. I had no idea that there is an actress named Jane Seymour in RL. She's not the woman in my story. I picked the last name because I read The Other Boleyn Girl for like the hundredth time a little while ago. Love that book.**


	24. Chapter 24

**You all were pretty unanimous in saying Edward should have said something about Jane's advancements. Let's see how Bella feels about it.**

**Song: Primitive Radio Gods - Standing outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand**

. . . . . . . . . . .

I was not fucking enjoying this. At all. No way in hell would I ever come to her trailer alone again. I should have known better after the last three weeks.

I would have left but my phone was dead, and Bella was supposed to meet me here.

And it was fucking cold outside today, some storm was moving in.

I wasn't oblivious to Jane's advances, I just didn't acknowledge them. The woman had confidence, I'd give her that. I wasn't interested though. She was almost as bad as Jess, just more subtle and less stalker-y about it. The casual touches, reaching out and touching my arm flirtatiously, or resting her hand on my thigh. Standing too fucking close and nearly choking me to death with that damn perfume.

I had tried to be gentle about my disinterest at first, but had bluntly told her twice now that it just wasn't going to happen. It was making my job tense as hell, because she was my co-star and I was stuck with her. I _had_ to be professional about it, because I had to work with her almost every day. It would just make things worse if I was to… confront her in anger.

What pissed me off the most though, was the way she treated Bella. Not just the fact that she was disrespecting her by the way she acted towards me, but the way she looked at her when she thought no one was looking. That hard glint in her eyes. And there was just something else about the way she looked at her that put me on edge.

I didn't mention it to Bella, but I wasn't naïve enough to think she hadn't noticed as well. Bella noticed _everything_. She was a complete sweetheart to Jane though. She always smiled when they spoke, was always friendly and polite. I'm pretty sure she was doing the whole 'killing them with kindness' thing, and she was frighteningly good at it.

I had thought confrontational, blunt, angry Bella had been scary. It was _nothing_ compared to the sweet, polite, unassuming little thing she turned into when interacting with people on set though. She gave off this 'girl next door' vibe whenever she wasn't on the matts, and I wasn't surprised that everyone bought it. No one but me knew that it was all an act. She was pushing herself not to be so… standoffish, to curb her reaction to flinch or knock someone out when they got too close to her. She had been able to sort of have a fresh start on a new city of people.

She was kind of adored to be honest. Walking around with her, it was like she had the names and resumes of everyone she passed memorized. She was irresistible, a fusion of complete opposite personalities that just sucked people in. It drove me a little crazy, because I wanted to keep her to myself, and everyone always seemed to want a piece of her.

But it wasn't _her_, because the one thing she just was not capable of doing, was being herself around anyone that wasn't me or Marcus. I think the idea of it alone made her feel vulnerable. So, she just acted circles around a bunch of fucking actors, but no one but me had a damn clue.

I felt like a selfish asshole, but I was one, and had come to terms with that. I didn't want to share her, and she didn't want me to. It worked for us.

She had no interest in her own celebrity status since we'd come to LA. She got requests for more interviews than I did, really. Neither of us really cared though, we had no interest in the spotlight. We were here to work, and were here for each other. That was it. It was close to my nightmares coming true, Bella had given up her privacy and anonymity to be with me, but she didn't complain about any of it. Aside from the press clogging up her inbox that was.

Since we had started shooting also, I'd just been exhausted and slightly irritable. Some nights I was lucky to get five hours of sleep. Bella has always been the best drug to help me keep my cool, to calm and settle me, but I didn't get to spend much time with her. Those few hours of holding her against me in our bed seemed to be the only thing keeping me level. That and all of her little visits. No matter how busy she was, she always made time to come see me, even if only for a minute, and often to make sure that I was eating. Always bringing me lunch or dinner. I really don't know what I had done to deserve her.

I missed her though. This only solidified my resolve to stop working for a while after this movie. Who was I kidding? I wanted to fucking retire, convince Bella to marry me, and just monopolize as much of her time as possible. I was more than able financially to provide for the both of us for the rest of our lives.

I was smiling at the thought alone. I should have taken her up on the offer when she was in the hospital to run away and sail to the Caribbean. That would be so fucking awesome…

I snapped out of my daydream when I felt Jane's hand on my arm. The image of Bella in a skimpy blue bikini laying out on the white deck of an unnamed boat in the middle of the sea faded to _her_. Eyes the wrong brown, hair closer to a black than mahogany, a too thin and sharp face.

I pierced her with a cold look as I took her wrist and removed her hand.

"Where'd you go?" She asked with her smile. I had thought she had a nice smile before, but now it just put me on edge. She always looked like she was hiding secrets, secrets I didn't think I wanted to know.

"Just thinking about the weekend, and how much I'm looking forward to getting the hell away from this place for a bit."

"From what I've heard, you used to love this city, and all it had to _offer_," she said coyly.

I laughed. "Yeah, well, shit changes." I looked out the window again, wondering why the hell she was so late. Bella didn't do late.

"Big plans for the weekend?"

"Mhmm." God, I wished I was physically capable of just sitting here and giving her the cold shoulder. I would have had no problem with it a year ago, but now, I found it hard to treat anyone the way I'd treated people before. I am well aware that I used to be an asshole, but also that I wasn't that person anymore.

Only three more months…

Next time our conference room is taken we'll rehearse in the fucking hallway, this shit it just creepy.

"Really? What are you doing?"

"My sister's getting married."

"Oh really? Well-"

Jane flinched when the door to her trailer was thrown open, and Bella stood there in a fiery rage that I hadn't seen in a while.

The woman was fucking glorious when she was angry.

And dangerous. She completely ignored me as I walked over to her and took her hand, though her fingers automatically entwined with mine. She was practically vibrating.

"You might think that you're fucking smart, but you're not. This is me, giving you a warning. Watch your fucking step Jane." Jane gave her an innocent smile, and when Bella returned it, Jane turned wary. Bella turned to me and smiled. "You ready to go baby?"

"Anywhere as long as it's away from here," I admitted with a grin, and her smile slipped into something more genuine before I threw her over my shoulder, squealing, and practically ran with her to our truck.

Once we were safely in the cabin, I let my concern show as I cupped her face.

"What happened?"

"Can we talk at home? I just want to get out of here," she said in a small voice. I nodded, and the cabin was oddly quiet without Zeus' heavy breathing coming from the back bench. It would have been so stressful for him to make two flights within three days though, which is why Marcus was babysitting for us for our break.

It had been windy all day, the harsh breeze coming off of the ocean oddly cold for LA, and I mentally cursed when I remembered that I'd left my coat in my changing room. It would have taken too long to go back for it, and I really didn't want to go back to studio to get it. I had others and would make do, but that one was my favourite. I turned on the heat in the truck.

Bella spent the whole drive in silence, staring out the window of the cabin. I tried to suppress my panic for her, because even with my weekly visits to Sib it was still something I was having issues with. I just worried about her, all the time. I knew it was irrational, a misplaced fear that a dead man was still hunting my reason for existence, but I couldn't help it. I'd ripped apart her world and dragged her into mine and my worry that she was suffering for me just wasn't something therapy, or her assurances, could turn off.

As soon as we pulled into our garage, and the door shut, Bella's eyes watered. I was pulling her into my arms in the same second, and she clung to me tightly. I just picked her up, and brought her inside, dropping down onto our favourite couch with her in my lap. I pulled the clip out of her hair, and started combing through it with my fingers as I held her tightly. I felt her slowly start to relax against me after a few minutes.

"What happened?"

She sniffled. "Cloe's in the hospital," she whispered, and I froze.

"What? Why?" My throat tightened worriedly, because Bella had fucking adored Cloe. She was probably the closest thing to a friend she had made in LA so far, just because those ladies loved trying to beat the shit out of each other and both had a fondness for guns and baking.

"I…" She sighed. "She got a message from Jane today, saying that she'd left her gear in make-up, and when she ran out to get it before our session… Someone had left a broken jug of hand soap on the stairs. She slipped, and broke one of her legs and an arm."

"I'm sorry," I told her gently. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah, but she won't be in the movie anymore," she said quietly. "And…" She swallowed loudly.

"And what?"

"And… Mac asked me to take her place," she said warily, looking up at me uneasily.

"Really?" I asked, and my head was a jumble of pride, anger, concern, and just shock. She nodded. "I'm sorry, I know you two are close, but Marcus can be a fucking idiot." She flinched. "He never should have hired Jane, or asked you to be a stunt double. You should be doing the whole fucking role."

She stared at me in surprise for a long minute, but I didn't look away from her eyes.

"Why would you say that?"

I shrugged. "Because it's true. That part was _made_ for you, and you would have killed it."

"I'm not an actress," she said quietly, and I laughed.

"Baby, you're the most skilled actress I've ever met."

Her eyes watered as she looked down in her lap.

"Marcus offered me the part," she said, her voice barely above a breath, and I think my heart stopped for a moment in my surprise.

"He… what?"

"After I woke up in the hospital, he offered me the part before he offered it to Jane."

I grasped her chin and tilted her face to meet my eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I hissed angrily, and her tears pooled over.

"Because I was scared," she whispered. I raised in incredulous eyebrow at her before my eyes narrowed at the vagueness of her answer.

"Of what?" She flinched from my curt tone, but I was fucking _angry_. Because the only thing I could think of wanting more than to co-star with her would have been fucking marrying her, but I think I overestimated the amount of trust she had in me, because she didn't tell me shit. She shook her head, and I snapped. "Tell me!"

"Because this is _your_ thing, not mine!" She cried, and she tried to push me away from her but I didn't fucking let her. I knew if she really wanted me off she'd make me, but at the same time… I didn't think she ever would. "I don't want to be famous, I _hate_ it when people watch me, I _liked_ being invisible. The only reason I put up with any of this shit is so I can be with _you_. I hate it here, I hate having my picture taken, not being able to even buy my own fucking groceries, and I'm not a fucking actress! And-" her voice cut off in a sob, and she shut her mouth quickly.

I was stunned to silence. I just sat there and watched her cry for a few moments before I pushed.

"And what?" She shook her head, but I knew she would tell me if I pushed. She always told me. "_Tell me_ Bella."

"On the off chance that you would have been okay with it… I was afraid what it would do to us."

"What do you mean?" She finally met my eyes again, and my anger turned to a bit of fear as her eyes looked so… broken.

"Do you really have to ask?" There was a plea in her voice, or maybe it was disappointment. All I did was nod.

Her eyes turned hard.

"You should know what would have happened if I took that role, and I wasn't ready for it."

Her riddles were pissing me off. "Stop playing word games and just spit it out."

She flinched like I'd slapped her, then moved to get up. My grip tightened on her arms to keep her, and she just reached up, pushing into a spot just above my collarbone with her thumb, and the surprise of the sharp, shooting pain caused me to lose my grip, and she got up.

"You said you wouldn't keep anything from me anymore," I accused. She didn't turn to look at me when she answered.

"I didn't think I would have to spell out that being your girlfriend as Bree tanner, and choreographing, is a lot safer than using an alias to star in a movie. Sorry for not jumping at the idea of wanting to risk the chance of most of America knowing what he did to me. And the idea of us ending the way you did with your last two female co-stars wasn't so appealing either. We need to leave for the airport in an hour."

And I watched her walk away without a backward glance as she went over to our bedroom.

All I could hear was the thudding of my pulse in my head, as I tried to make sense of the last ten minutes. And everything that I'd just done.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

I flew off of the couch and bolted into the bedroom. The door to the bathroom was closed, and I heard the water of the shower turn on. The door was locked.

"Bella?"

"Go away Edward."

"No, open the door."

"Fuck you, just leave me alone."

"_Never_. Let me in or I'll break down the damn door."

She didn't answer, and must have thought I was bluffing. I wasn't. I lifted my foot, and kicked in the handle. It flew open, bouncing back from the wall with a bang.

Bella wasn't in the shower. She was sitting on the floor next to it, shaking, her knees pulled up tightly to her chest and her face hidden behind her long dark hair. My heart just fucking broke as I walked over to her, and quietly folded myself down on the ground in front of her.

"Why buy such fancy fucking locking doorknobs if you're just going to boot-fuck them for doing their job?" She mumbled into her arms, sniffling. The corner of my mouth twitched despite my internal chaos.

"I'm an actor, being dramatic is in my job description," I said gently. She didn't laugh, but I prayed that she smiled, or that at least a part of her _wanted_to smile. I opened my mouth but her words left hers before mine could.

"I should have told you about the offer, I'm sorry," she said in a broken voice. "I… I didn't even think about it, I didn't think it was important, but I still should have told you. I'm sorry."

This was just getting worse.

"No… Bella, I lost my temper and took it out on you. I'm sorry, I was just… hurt. You were right, about what you said. It wouldn't have been safe for you, and _that_ is what's most important to me baby. That was just me being selfish. The first time I ever read that script… it was the night that you chaperoned that dinner Rose had with Kate. The second I read it I thought of you, and it had been a dream of mine really ever since. I- it wasn't right of me to react like that though, and I'm so sorry." _And I'm sorry that I took advantage of the fact that you seem incapable of saying no to me…_

She looked up at me in confusion, with puffy, red-rimmed and watery eyes. I could barely breathe watching her suffer, and knowing that I was the one that caused it. She watched me for a long minute. "Aren't you…" She stopped herself, and her hand went to her hair, tugging on it in frustration.

"Aren't I what?"

"I thought you were coming in here to break up with me," she said in a tiny voice.

Damn it. I really needed to bring this up with Sib. It was killing me that she seemed to have this constant fear that I was going to break up with her, and I was at a loss for how to convince her otherwise anymore. She knew I loved her more than anything in the world, I didn't know what else I could do besides assuring her again and again. And I didn't mind doing it, I just hated that broken, terrified look in her eyes.

"No. _Never_. Just to beg for your forgiveness."

"But, but I-"

"When did he ask you?" I asked her gently. "How many days after you woke up?"

"I… I'm not really sure, the pain meds kind of made the days blur into each other," she whispered.

"Before we went home?" She nodded. "Baby… you were dealing with bigger fish than telling me about a job offer. I _get_ that. I may be an ass, but when I actually take time to think over something I'm not a complete idiot. You had other things on your mind." She had gone nearly catatonic while in that hospital, she wasn't much capable of communicating anything while she was there. Aside from wanting to leave… which I'd had to deny her. She looked down self-consciously, but I tilted her face back up to mine gently. "But that other thing you said, about Tanya and Jess?" She winced. I hadn't known that she knew about my thing with Jess, it was before I'd met her, but I wasn't surprised either. "That's fucking bullshit. You're the only woman I've ever loved, and they didn't have shit on what we have together. You know that, so what did you really mean?"

She watched me nervously, worrying her bottom lip. "I was afraid that you might get… frustrated, or annoyed, if we had to work together like that. I didn't… I didn't want you to grow tired or resentful of me if you didn't like it."

I grinned. "Please tell me you can hear how ridiculous that sounds," I teased. She just looked confused. "Baby, I want nothing more or less than all of you, every single moment of the day. I love and crave you so much that I'm pretty sure I've lost my mind. One lifetime with you will never be enough for me, but it's all I have, and I'm going to fill as much of it as I can with you because there's nothing I want more."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said again, her eyes welling once more with tears.

"I forgive you, and I don't blame you either. I'm sorry I lost it but…"

"But what?"

"Sometimes I feel like you don't trust me," I admitted gently. She shook her head.

"I trust you more than anyone else I know," she said shakily. "It's _me_ I don't trust Edward."

"Well you should. I do," I told her gently. I moved closer to her, and let out a sigh of relief when she let me touch her, and then pulled her into my lap and held her tightly. She let out a shaky breath and I felt her rigid posture sort of melt away as she accepted my comfort.

"I… I don't know what sort of things I'm supposed to tell you," she said uneasily, and I frowned before leaning back to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… What sort of stuff you would want to know, and what you wouldn't? I don't want to hide anything from you, but I don't know where the line is," she said self-consciously. Her voice sounded so… vulnerable. Young.

Sometimes, most of the time, I tended to forget that Bella was only twenty-one… that I had seven years on her almost. She was too mature for her age, and she had lost most of her childhood. Or rather, skipped it.

She was just finally getting to learn this stuff. And I think she knew that. I'm pretty sure that's what she was self-conscious about.

"Well, that's easy," I said with a smile, cupping her face gently with one hand. "I want to know _everything_."

"Everything?"

"Yup. Every single tiny, inconsequential detail. I want it all."

"What I ate for lunch?" She asked curiously.

I nodded with a smile, brushing my hand back through her hair. My hand got a little stuck in a tangle, and I carefully un-snagged it, grinning. She was an adorable mess when she cried.

"When someone asks me for an interview?"

"Yup."

"Mike's dirty jokes?"

"Mike tells you dirty jokes?" I asked a little darkly, and she bit her lip nervously. "Not mad at you baby, and still want to know. I just don't like the way that fucker looks at you."

She blushed. "They're really bad jokes. I know he thinks he's being funny, but he's worse at telling jokes than I am, and we have very different tastes in humour. His are more gross stories than actual jokes."

"Hmm, tell me more about my less-attractive doppelgänger," I said in amusement, leaning back against the wall and folding my arms behind my head. My grin grew when she giggled.

"He's a pig really. Thinks he's slick too." She leaned in, shifting so she was straddling me and resting her hands flat against my chest before she placed a soft kiss on my jaw. "I'm pretty sure he's been trying to pick me up, but after being dazzled by Edward Cullen himself, his attempts just seem pathetic."

"I dazzle you?" I teased.

"Frequently," she said, with the sweetest pink blush spreading over her cheeks as she leaned back to look at me with a shy smile. How she managed to look so fucking sweet and innocent when she was straddling me, I have no idea. I slipped and arm around her, and instead of pulling her in to kiss her, I just pulled her against me to hold her. She rested her forehead against my neck, leaning on my shoulder as she settled comfortably on my lap.

I fucking loved this.

"So he's been hitting on you?"

"Attempting to," she said, and I could hear her smile. "He's really not that bad though, he's a pretty nice guy. It's just… hard, curbing that urge to punch him, or yell at him for it, but I'm trying to be professional about it. I don't want to mess with Mac's movie. I just don't like guys hitting on me, it makes me uncomfortable. I don't think he's nearly as bad with me as Jane is with you though."

"Ah, you've noticed that huh?"

"Pretty hard not to," she laughed.

"Aren't you upset that I didn't say anything?"

"Not really. I trust you, and I know you can take care of yourself," she said, placing a soft kiss on my neck. "Really, I think it's kind of pathetic that's she's trying so hard."

"You're not the only one," I said with a sigh, leaning my head back against the wall and closing my eyes. "It's exhausting, and annoying as hell. But just like you said with Mike… I'm afraid of doing something too drastic and screwing shit up for Marcus." She nodded against me, and it was a big relief being able to talk about stuff like this with her. Talking about Marcus though, it brought up the catalyst once again, and I asked as gently as possible. "So, what did you say to Mac's offer?"

She leaned back to look at me, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment. "That I wanted to talk to you about it first," she said timidly.

Yeah, I was really feeling like an asshole today.

"I want you to do whatever you want to do Bella. I think you'd be amazing, but I don't want you doing something that's going to make you uncomfortable." I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "What do you want to do?"

Her face flushed scarlet, which really grabbed my attention, as she tried to avoid my gaze. "Honestly, I think I'd like to do it just to avoid training another person, and…"

"Fuck, you're the prettiest tomato I've ever seen," I gushed, and she smacked me in the arm, making me laugh. "And what baby?"

"And… well, I'd prefer you were kissing me instead of Cloe anyways."

"What?" It took a second for me to grasp, and my face fucking broke with my smile.

It was bad enough that I'd have to kiss Jane, but being able to avoid kissing her stunt double too…

"Baby, please say yes. I really want you to do it," I said selfishly. I'd actually get to do two scenes with her. Short ones, but still pretty fucking awesome.

"Okay," she said, not even hesitating. I almost started bouncing in my excitement before my entire body went cold.

Shit.

Hell fucking no, I couldn't watch something like that again. Not after Victor… I could barely pull my memory of the script to mind at the moment though.

"Baby… would you be… were there any parts where your double would have to, uh-"

She smiled.

"No, I told Mac I don't mind kissing you, but anything else was non-negotiable. All I'm doing is beating people up and jumping off stuff." She smiled when I relaxed. "I think he was a little offended to be honest, he would never have asked me to."

"Really?"

She laughed. "Yeah, Dad would have come back and haunted him from the grave for it."

"You know, he told me that he was an old friend of the family, but I never did ask you what the deal was with you guys. How'd you meet?"

She smiled. "Mac's known me since I was in diapers. He met my dad on this exotic fishing trip my dad had won tickets to and… they just clicked. Dad told him about some of the local fishing, and Mac accepted his offer to come visit. He loved Forks, I think it was just because no one knew him there. He's the closest thing to an Uncle I ever had and…" She went quiet for a minute, then swallowed thickly. "After the accident, when I started writing what happened… well, I originally thought about trying to get it published, but I didn't want to. It wouldn't meet the purpose of the whole thing, I wanted everyone in the world to know his name, what he looked like, and what he was capable of. And I wanted to stay anonymous. The whole point was so that he'd be found, and a book wouldn't have done shit, so… I gave it to Mac, to see if he had any friends that might want to do something with it. He read it, and then said no, and asked to buy the rights for it. You know the rest."

"You made his career with that script," I pointed out. "Same with mine."

She went uncomfortably quiet, as she usually did when talking about that movie. She just looked sad though, the self-loathing that used to always fill her eyes when it came up wasn't the prominent emotion anymore.

She was getting better. I knew she still blamed herself, but she _was_ getting better. That only became more obvious when, instead of curling in on herself, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hid her face in my neck.

This I could do. I couldn't convince her of her innocence, but I would always be glad to hold and comfort her as she tried to work through it herself.

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Hmm… They got distracted. Why would Bella think Jane left that bottle of soap there? What reason could she have to want to injure her stunt double?**

**Please review! And I'll try not to wait too long to put up the next chapter :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Twilight isn't mine, but this plot is.**

**Song: Sugar – Maroon 5 (Love the music video for this song too!)**

. . . . . . . . . .

We missed our plane, but were able to get on another flight that was two hours later. Thank god, Alice would have had my balls on a platter if I'd cost her one of her bridesmaids.

Said bridesmaid was lost in her own mind, and had been ever since our talk about her script. She spent the first half of the flight staring at her hands in her lap, and the second half tucked under my arm. She probably looked asleep to anyone else, but you'd have to fucking tranquillize her to get her to fall asleep in a public place. I think it was easier for her to deal with her thoughts when she just shut down sometimes. I just held her, silently letting her know that it was okay. Despite how much it hurt to see her struggling so hard just to deal with her own thoughts, I loved that she felt safe enough with me to let herself shut down a little.

It was nice that she wasn't always trying to protect me anymore, searching for a threat around every corner, all the time. I liked that she felt safe enough with me to let me protect _her_.

Emmett was the one who picked us up from the airport, running over and lifting Bella into a tight hug as soon as he caught sight of us. And though she smiled and hugged him back, and I knew she missed him like crazy, there was something different. I couldn't really put my finger on it though.

We went back to Bella's building, and though it felt wrong without Zeus, it was still nice to be home. Everyone came over and we had Chinese, and discussed the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. Rose was glowing, and looked fabulous even in the end of her second trimester. Everyone seemed so excited to have us back that I don't think they even noticed that Bella's smile never reached her eyes. There was something… _missing_.

I tried to figure it out, and I watched. I watched Bella like a fucking hawk. I tried to figure out what it was, what had changed, but I didn't figure it out until everyone left.

And then she looked at me.

Then I saw it again, that little piece that was gone when she had looked at everyone else. There was just this way that she smiled at me that was different then the way she smiled around the others. As we got changed for bed, shutting off the lights and climbing under the light summer blankets and sheets, I tried to not only put a name to it, but to find out where it had come from. Why if there had been something wrong with the others I hadn't noticed it earlier.

But I had. I had noticed it before we'd left. At first I had worried that the move might have set back her progress, but it had had a startlingly positive effect on her moods.

It hadn't just been her therapy though... it had been getting away from the others. It was easy to remember now, how she'd seemed kind of off around them, depressed or lost even. I had forgotten all about it in LA when she had seemed so well. I had figured that with Victor's death came a sort of loss of purpose for her, and that had made it a little difficult to cope with what sense of freedom she should have gained from his death.

What I hadn't considered was what that might have meant for her friendships with the _others_. That them not needing her to protect them from him may have equated to the same thing in her mind as them not needing _her._

She looked at me differently than the others, and I knew why. I knew it was because she _knew_ that _I_ needed her, I'd needed her since the moment I first saw her.

The apartment was silent, and I could feel that Bella was still awake beside me, curled into my side in the darkness. My stomach was spinning with the unease of my theory, and I rolled to my side, shimmying down the bed so that my eyes were level with hers. She watched me curiously with her big, dark, lost eyes, and I cupped her cheek with one hand as I kissed her gently on the lips.

"I _need_ you Bella. Always. Without you I don't even exist," I told her truthfully. I was who I was now because of her, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was actually happy with who I was now, on a level that I'd never reached before.

I knew I was right when her eyes watered, and she pulled my lips to hers and kissed me urgently.

"I feel lost without you," she whimpered. "You're the only thing that even feels real anymore."

I knew that feeling well.

"I love you more than anything."

"I love you more than everything."

"You _are_ my everything," I said with a teasing grin.

She laughed, and then just seemed to lose herself in a fit of giggles.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, but I think that was corny even for us!" She gasped.

"We should write a Disney movie together."

She fucking snorted, and I laughed, _hard_. Bella had tears coming out of her eyes she was laughing so hard. We were still laughing as I kissed her, and trapped both of her wrists in my hands, pinning them above her as I hovered over her.

And my Bella was there again. Smiling, glowing, happy.

Making her face look like that was the most rewarding feeling I'd ever experienced.

I needed her. I needed _this_, this all-consuming love that had been born when I found her. I couldn't live without it.

And I couldn't let her live another moment thinking that she wasn't needed, because she was.

I got up, surprising her, and walked over to my bag, picking up my wallet, and I gripped the ring in a fist before dropping the leather and walking back over to her.

I smiled, realizing she could have found that ring any time. She could have needed some change and gone into my wallet any time over the past seven months. I know that lots of guys go through an effort to hide this sort of thing… but I'd never once worried about it. Putting a tracking program in my e-mails aside, she just wasn't the type of person to go through my things.

She sat up, watching me in worry and confusion as I sat next to her on the edge of the bed. I watched her for a minute, she was searching my eyes, and I leaned in and kissed her softly.

"I don't care if it's corny, it's true. I _do_ need you. I've never needed anything like I've needed you. I don't know how I managed to live so long without you in my life, and I know without a doubt that I want you in it every day of the rest of forever. I want to know every single thing about you, your every thought, feeling, and desire. I want to fall asleep and wake up every morning with you in my arms. You're the only thing I need."

"Edward-" she practically choked out, but froze when I got up, and knelt down on one knee on the floor.

"Marry me."

She just stared at me in confusion, or maybe shocked disbelief. I opened up my hand, offering her the ring I'd carried with me for over half a year. Her hands clapped over her mouth as her tears spilled over.

I couldn't breathe with my heart lodged in my throat. She _had_ to say yes, but she seemed too stunned to say anything at all.

I asked again, and hated the vulnerability and fear that creeped into my voice as the words left my lips.

"Bella, I swear I'll love you every second of the rest of my life. _Please_, marry me."

She watched me for another long moment, silently crying, before she nodded.

I smirked, feeling fucking high. "Is that a yes baby?"

"Yes," she whimpered. My smirk grew.

"Yes what?" I teased, and the sweetest sound escaped her lips with her musical laugh.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

"Thank fucking god," I said in a huff, and she was laughing again, and crying, as I took her trembling left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. It was a little too big, and I pouted. "Damn it, I'll need to get this thing sized," I growled, and then looked up at her. I think she was kind of in shock, and she just stared at our hands. I got back up, and cupped her face in my hands. "You're mine now," I said, proudly, maybe a little possessively, and definitely fucking smugly.

"I've always been yours," she whispered back, and those words were music to my ears as I pulled her face to mine and kissed her. Urgently. It was hard and fierce, and her lips were just as fierce as mine as her hands slipped into my hair and her body moulded against mine. We were frantic and urgent in ripping off each other's clothes. Both of us needed the closeness, the feeling of skin on skin, something to ground us in this moment. I couldn't get close enough, touch enough of her. I needed all of her, everywhere, and I knew without a doubt that I always would.

. . . . . . . . . .

I lay back on the bed, propped up against her padded leather headboard with my arms folded behind my head as I watched her step out of the bathroom. My fiancé smirked at me, the tiny seductive curve of her lips already enough to have me hard, before she just dropped her towel and walked to her dresser. She shimmied into a strapless, sexy black bra with matching panties, then walked around the bed to her rack of clothes. I watched hungrily as she slipped into a little black halter dress, then turned her back to me.

"Can you zip me?" she asked sweetly, and I slid to the edge of the bed before slowly doing up the zipper. I was very tempted to just bend her over the bed and have my way with her. That black dress was doing very dirty things to my mind.

I hadn't really been able to take my hands off of her since I put that ring on her finger though.

Christ, she was gorgeous. She didn't need the make-up, but her eyes were entrancing when they were all smoky like that, with her soft, silky hair running smooth and straight over her shoulders.

But catching a glimpse of the ring on her left hand just pushed me over the edge. Fuck, my fiancé was so fucking hot.

I pulled her back against my chest, letting her feel how much I wanted her. She let out a soft moan, leaning into me as my hands ran down her body.

"Edward?" She breathed huskily, and I grinned.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to be late."

"I don't care."

"Yes you do, you know how much of a living hell Alice would make our lives if we showed up late to her rehearsal dinner."

I sighed dramatically, letting her go. "Fine."

She laughed, and then kissed my cheek, and she took her sweet ass time bending over to pick up a pair of black heels.

"Jesus Bella," I hissed.

"What?" She asked too innocently, and I shot her a dark smirk before I walked over and smacked her in the ass. She squeaked in surprise as she shot upright, and her face flushed red. Damn, it drove me nuts how she could be all sexy and taunting me one moment and then just switch into this sweet, innocent little thing.

"Stop taunting me Bella, or I'll bend you back over and fuck you right here."

"Is that a promise?" she said sweetly.

"Jesus, we need to get out of here. You're being fucking evil today."

"Okay, let's go," she said cheerfully, stepping into her shoes, and I let out a sigh before following after her as she walked to the door.

I couldn't take my hands off of her, but she loved it. She was in such a good mood that she even let me drive.

I loved this car. I was distracted today though, watching Bella twist a lock of hair around her finger, looking over every time she uncrossed and crossed her legs, and every time she twisted her ring around her finger.

I noticed immediately when she pouted.

"What's wrong?"

She looked at me nervously. "I'm afraid it's going to fall off," she said worriedly. "I don't want to take it off but I'm afraid I'll lose it." She chewed on her lip nervously as we pulled up to the hotel, but I told the valet to wait a moment.

"You got a knife in that thing?" I asked, nodding to her sparkly silver clutch. She gave me a curious look, but opened it up and handed me a little pocket knife. I grinned, taking it and sliding my seat back, and cut the excess off of one of my laces. I took her hand, facing it palm up, and then tied it around the band of her ring before cutting off the excess. I felt pretty damn proud when she smiled happily. "I'll get it fixed first thing when we get back," I assured her. I'd already made an appointment. I knew a jeweler that could have it done for me within a day back in LA. "But how's that for now?"

"Perfect," she said softly, then pulled my face to hers to kiss me. My hand slid up her leg, starting to dip under that sexy little black dress, and she laughed. "Baby, I don't think you want to do that," she said teasingly.

"Oh, I _know_ I do."

"Hmm, even with that valet watching us? He'd get quite the show," she said lightly, and I stopped immediately to turn and glare at the man by my door. He quickly looked away, but I still wanted to punch him. I huffed angrily and stepped out, shooing away the man that went to get Bella's door so I could get it myself. No one was fucking touching her. She smiled as she wrapped herself around my arm, and we ignored the press that had shown up to try and corner me.

Actually, not me. They were shouting out for Bree, and Bella didn't even acknowledge them.

"Jeeze baby, I think you're more famous than I am," I teased her. She laughed.

"Nah, they're just greedy for details. That home-schooling cover drove them nuts. I was a little tempted to even give in to the interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, but it would have been too risky."

"Shit, Rolling Stone?" I asked with a smile. She blushed, and I kissed her cheek as I wrapped an arm around her.

We weren't the last ones to arrive, but we were very close. Bella and I stuck mostly with my mom, since dad had gotten called into work for an emergency. Bella was better today, she didn't look as… lost. I think she may have missed my mother more than the others. Her smiles were genuine, even though she was obviously uncomfortable in the crowd. She was in work mode, constantly scanning the room and looking over her shoulder. I knew telling her that she was safe would accomplish nothing but making her feel self-conscious. This was just an old habit of hers that I'd come to terms with.

Her edginess put me on edge though. She barely ate anything, too busy looking over her shoulder and tensing whenever someone walked behind her. I kept an arm wrapped around her, just trying to give her a little bit of comfort while we ate. Despite the fanciness of the food, it wasn't that good in my opinion, and I ended up just eating the roasted baby potatoes off of both of our plates.

"We're definitely going to Mc Donald's once we're out of here," I whispered into her ear, and she smiled brightly.

"Can we do Wendy's instead? I could really go for some spicy chicken," she said hopefully, making me laugh.

"Fuck, that sounds delicious."

She giggled, and cupped my cheek with one hand as she kissed me.

Someone screamed. I knew it was my baby sister without looking.

"B! What the hell is on your hand?!" She shouted, glaring, and both of us smiled. We hadn't said anything because Bella didn't want to steal any of Alice's thunder with our news, but my sister just threw that out the window.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Bella asked, her eyes sparkling when she looked at me. I kissed her again, and didn't look away from her as I spoke.

"We're getting married," I said proudly, and Bella's eyes teared up a little.

"What?! When? When did you ask her? Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

We both started laughing.

"He asked me last night," she told her gently. "We were just waiting for the right time to say something."

Alice, Rose, and my mother all started crying. We were congratulated and hugged by our little family, and I could practically feel Bella's guilt rolling off of her as she tried to move everyone's attention back to Alice and Jasper and our reason for being here.

Alice wouldn't have it, she wanted to know everything. How long we were going to wait, where we wanted to have the ceremony, what sort of dress Bella wanted and the colour scheme we planned on using.

We didn't have a single answer for her. We'd been a little too busy to talk much. We'd figure it out eventually, it's not like we had a deadline. We just had to get this film out of the way first.

We finished dessert, some fancy Crème brûlée. I loved it, but it had to be Bella's least favourite desert, so once again I ended up stealing her food. Then we moved over to the ballroom to get on with the rehearsal. It was physically painful to let go of her for those fifteen minutes, even though I was only three meters away from her, which was making me apprehensive on letting her go for the night. I doubted the bachelor party would distract me at all.

And I did not want to let her go to that club, especially looking like that.

I'm not sure what she saw on my face as I watched her, thinking that, but it was enough to make her blush.

Fuck, I loved that blush.

I tried to discreetly adjust myself, and a coy little smile curled the corner of her mouth.

As soon as the priest finished and everyone started to make their way over to the bar, I stalked towards her, my hand wrapping around the back of her neck as I whispered into her ear.

"Go to the bathroom. Now. And wait three minutes," I ordered, motioning to a hallway where there were was a more secluded bathroom. And she fucking blushed again, nodding obediently as she chewed on her lip.

The whole innocent thing was an act, and both of us knew it, but I fucking loved it. She knew that. I watched her hungrily as she walked away, and went to the bar. I talked to Emmett and Jasper for a minute, finding out how much time I had before we were leaving, before excusing myself to the washroom.

I stopped one of the hotel's employees on my way, a janitor, because the last time I'd tried to do this it ended up on TMZ and that was not going to happen to Bella. I told him there was a thousand bucks in it for him if he rented out his out of order sign to me and made sure no one followed me, then slipped into the women's washroom. Bella was there, leaning against the sink and watching me with a smirk.

I locked the bolt on the door.

Neither of us said a word as I stalked over, pulling her against me a little roughly before claiming her mouth with my own. Her fingers snaked into my hair and I held onto her hips firmly, and when she needed to pull back to breathe my lips moved down her jaw, and she flinched at the same time that my brow furrowed, tasting make-up on her chin. I pulled back.

Eye make-up I got, but Bella didn't wear foundation. Ever. Her skin was fucking flawless.

Yes, I know what foundation is. I'm an actor and I've had to wear make-up more times than I could count.

"You're wearing make-up," I stated dumbly. Her eyes were wary when she tried to speak in a teasing tone.

"Obviously, my eyelids aren't naturally a dark grey," she laughed.

"You never wear foundation."

"It's- my skin tone was all weird today, I just wanted to look good for the party-" she lied.

"Bella," I said warningly, and she looked about ready to bolt.

"Edward, it's nothing, I-"

I held her in place with an arm around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides, which really pissed her off because she couldn't get away without actually hurting me, as I leaned over and grabbed one of the hand towels that were stacked neatly on the sink counter. I ran some water over it, and Bella just sagged in defeat as I brought it up and brushed it over her jaw. She winced, but didn't pull away, and I hissed when I revealed the dark bruise she'd been hiding.

"What-"

My question caught in my throat, because I already knew exactly where she'd gotten that bruise. I went over the fight we had yesterday in my head, and quickly let go of her.

"Bella, fuck, I…"

I felt like I was going to be sick. She'd been walking around with that all day, hiding it like it was nothing.

"Edward, I'm fine, really, I-"

"I fucking bruised your face."

"You didn't mean to, I know you didn't, it was-"

"Stop, just… God." Okay, I was freaking out. I felt like my lungs were filled with water as my hands gripped onto my hair.

I marked her.

"Edward, it's okay, really-"

"It is _not fucking okay_ Bella," I hissed.

"It was just an accident, you didn't mean to do it," she said gently. "It's not like you hit me or something, you just held me a little tight, it's fine."

"I'm sorry," I breathed.

"It's okay," she said back gently, and I shuddered as she wrapped her arms around me and hugged my torso. "Please don't freak out, it's okay. I'm fine."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. I love you."

I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her too. Really, it was impossible not to. It just made the chaos in my mind worse though, needing to hold her but not even wanting to touch her.

I shivered when she leaned up on her toes to kiss my neck, and felt some of my tension dissolve as her lips continued to tease my throat.

"Does it hurt?"

"Barely."

"Bella, I…"

"I know you'd never try to hurt me Edward. It was just an accident," she said soothingly, and her nails scraped along my scalp as her fingers slipped into my hair, making me shiver. She pulled my face down to hers and kissed me, and I hissed when she nipped at my bottom lip.

"I feel safe with you, and I like it when you don't treat me like I'm made of glass," she whispered, and my hands slipped down to her hips, holding her. She pulled me down to kiss me again, and it started off sweet but… it did not stay that way. Her lips were hungry, wanting, and her body melted into mine when I kissed her back. My grip on her automatically tightened, but I quickly relaxed. "No, tighter," she pleaded against my lips, and my grip tightened again when her nails dug into my shoulders. "You won't break me Edward. And you'd never hurt me." Her nails dragged down my chest, and I could hear the smile in her voice when she whispered.

"I wouldn't let you. I could stop you if I wanted to."

I shivered, and pulled her tightly against me as I kissed her urgently, my fear and loathing turning into need.

She was right, she could stop me. She had. Easily. She did it with her fucking _thumb._

And it was fucking sexy. My girl wasn't a pushover, and she wasn't helpless.

She just loved me.

My fingers dug into her thighs, and she moaned.

"Yes," she breathed, and her breaths were deep and uneven as my lips moved down her throat, and my hands slid under her dress. I pulled down her panties, and her face flushed red when I smirked at her as I stuffed them into my pocket before kissing her again. I parted her legs by pushing out her foot with mine, hiking up her dress, and she let out a breathy sigh as I parted her with my fingers.

"I'll never hurt you like that again, I swear," I swore. I wouldn't lose my temper again. I wouldn't let myself.

"I know."

"I'll never leave a bruise on you again," I promised.

"Don't say that," she pleaded, making me freeze. "I want you to fuck me up against this counter so hard that you bruise my thighs. Not all bruises are bad," she breathed.

Fuck.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I'd stop you if you ever did."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

I kissed her urgently, because I needed it more than anything. It was the only time I ever really felt sane any more. The whole world could burn to ashes, but as long as I still had her, I would be okay.

That, and I trusted her much more than I trusted myself. I'd give her anything in the fucking world she asked for. I leaned her back against the sink, bracing myself with one hand on the counter behind her as my other slipped in between her legs. Our little talk had kind of killed the mood earlier, and I wanted her nice and fucking wet to give her what she wanted.

"Edward," she breathed, pleading.

"I know baby, I'll give you what you want, but you gotta be patient," I purred, and she whimpered as I slid two fingers inside of her slowly, then pulled out to tease her clit again.

Not fucking fast enough.

I dropped down to a knee, lifting one of her legs over my shoulder as I attacked her with my tongue, and she let out a quiet moan as she sank back against the counter, bracing herself with one hand as her other gripped into my hair.

"You gotta be quiet baby, you don't want to get caught, do you?" She whimpered and her leg started trembling as I slipped two fingers back inside of her. We were running short on time, so I was fast. I wasn't gentle because she didn't want me to be, and after about two minutes her muscles clamped down on my fingers and she stifled her cry with her hand. I shot back up to my feet, turning her and bending her over the counter as I undid my slacks. She barely had a second to think before I pushed into her in one swift thrust, covering her mouth with my hand so no one would hear her.

She didn't like that though, and swatted away my hand as she tried to brace herself against something. Her hands went out against the mirror in front of her, and she swallowed down a cry as I pulled out and thrust again, knocking her right into the edge of the counter.

It was a good cry though, I knew the difference in her voice between the two.

So I just went to town, giving her what she asked for, and watching myself fuck her into the counter through the mirror. We looked fucking good together.

"This is what you wanted, right baby?" I asked, speeding up, and she just nodded her head, trying to breathe as her nails scraped down the glass. I grabbed her arms, pulling her against me as I looped an arm through her elbows. "Open your eyes Bella, I want you to watch me fuck you," I growled, and her eyes opened with heavy lids, and she moaned as she met my smirking reflection.

Unfortunately, I couldn't last very long at this pace, not while looking at her in the fucking mirror. I needed her to come though, and released her arms, cupping her and pinching her clit, and she let out a silent scream as she came.

I was so close.

"Edward, I need you to pull out this time," she panted.

"What? Why?" So fucking close.

"Because I don't want your cum dripping down my thighs when I go to the club," she whimpered.

Hearing her say that word threw me over the edge, but I did pull out like she asked me to, grabbing the hand towel off of the counter before I slumped against her. We were both breathing heavily, but neither of us wanted to move. We just took a minute, and we grinned at each other in the mirror before I turned her around and kissed her. She was grinning against my lips as I straightened out her dress, and I pulled away to tuck myself back into my pants and straighten my shirt.

I threw out the hand towel, because it would have been kind of fucked up to leave it for the staff to pick up and clean.

As the high wore off, the fear set in.

"Are you okay?"

Her smile looked a little drunk, making me grin and relax. "Understatement."

I laughed, and kissed her, hard.

The thought of leaving her now and going separate ways felt so wrong though. I pulled my hands through my hair, not knowing what I was supposed to do.

"How about you go out first? I'll come find you in a couple minutes," she said softly, wrapping her arms around my waist. I relaxed a little as I kissed her, and then nodded.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she said with a big, adorable smile, and I chuckled as I kissed her cheek, then checked to make sure the coast was clear. The small hallway was deserted, and I pulled down the sign, walked around the corner, and slipped the janitor his tip as I went and joined the others at the bar.

I don't think we'd been as inconspicuous as I thought. I was gone a bit less than twenty minutes, but my future brother-in-law looked ready to choke me.

Rose just shot me a wink with a knowing smile.

Bella popped up two minutes later, eating a fucking ice cream cone. She had touched up her make-up too, her bruise once again invisible.

Emmett looked at her in jealous disbelief.

"Where the fuck did you get an ice cream cone?" He asked, pouting.

"Down the block," she said with a shrug.

Emmett looked at me, and I could see he doubted himself now, making me relax.

"You left to get ice cream?" My sister asked in shock.

"Yeah. I needed some air, this room was making me cloister phobic. And I really wanted chocolate."

Alice rolled her eyes, and when Bella walked over to me she gave me a wink.

"Where'd you really get it? I thought your brother was going to murder me for a second there."

"Some kid, he was just opening it and I gave him fifty bucks for it. I thought we might have been gone too long."

"God, I love you so fucking much."

"Mmm, I love you too, but you can't have any," she said knowingly.

Damn it.

"Please?"

She laughed and kissed my cheek before giving it to me.

. . . . . . . . . .

**He finally did it! Are you glad he didn't wait until they were done filming, or do you think he should have stuck to his plan?**

**Do you like ice cream? Or any sort of frozen dessert? If so, what's your favourite? Mine is Raspberry frozen yogurt from La Crémière. So good. If I wasn't so damn scared of malls I'd go get some.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Thank you for all of your lovely reviews on the last chapter! Every single one makes me smile :) Short chapter! But I didn't want it to take away from the next chapter. I'll try to update on Tuesday. I hope all you kids down in the US have a great memorial day weekend!**

**Song: Capital Cities – Safe and Sound**

. . . . . . . . . .

The Cigar lounge we went to was really nice, much more Jasper's style then what we had done for Emmett's party.

I didn't want a bachelor's party, I'd rather be locked in a room with my fiancé all night.

We had a few drinks and cigars, and had a small poker game. I was thankful for the distraction, having something to concentrate on was the only thing keeping me from running across town to Eclipse. I was down about three hundred bucks- I was good at poker, but was kind of letting Jasper win- when my phone rang. It was Rose, and I frowned in confusion before answering.

"Hey cousin, what's up?" Emmett's eyes shot up to mine in worry.

"Edward… someone must have said something, there's a fucking mob outside of the club and B was pretty much swarmed when she tried to go outside. She had a few drinks and she's kind of drunk, one of them grabbed her and-"

"I'll be right there, just put her in your office or something, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Edward."

"No, thanks for calling Rose, I'll see you guys soon."

"What's wrong?" Emmett asked worriedly, getting up with me.

"Engagement didn't stay quiet as long as we wanted it to, the press tracked her down to the club," I told him. Jasper got up too. "You guys don't need to come, I can handle it," I assured them, but they shook their heads.

"Edward, you're not the only one who doesn't want to be here. I'd like to see my future wife again before tomorrow," Jasper said with a smile, and we exited the lounge together.

There was a mob outside here too.

"Jesus," Jasper said, taking a step back in surprise. They didn't intimidate me though, I was used to this shit now, and I was _really_ pissed off.

"Get the fuck out of my way, one of you assholes grabbed my fucking fiancé, and I have no problem returning the fucking favour," I almost yelled, fucking livid, and they must have seen that because none of them touched us as we moved into the limo. We gave the driver the name of the club, and headed over.

Bella's mob was bigger than mine had been, and I hated that I'd put her in this position. She had the ring though, and that's what they most likely wanted a picture of. There was extra security out front, three big guys, and Emmett and I helped throw the leeches out of our way as we made our way inside. I sprinted up the stairs, taking two at a time, until we got up to the third floor and slipped into the VIP room.

It had been a while since I'd been here, but I didn't spare any of it a glance. I made my way over to the back exit by the bar, and was stopped by a huge guy with long black hair that looked familiar.

"Don't you-"

"Hey, calm down. I was just going to say that I'll show you to Rose's office," he said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Oh… thanks."

"No problem."

He led me down the hallway to a room I'd never been in before in tense silence, before he knocked on the door and opened it for me, leaving without another word.

Bella was sitting on a tan leather loveseat, and she was cleaning up one of her legs. Her whole left shin was already wrapped in bandages, and it looked like she was picking pieces of gravel out of her other leg, where a large section of skin had been scraped off. She looked up at me in surprise, and wiped at her face quickly.

Okay, she's probably the only woman I've ever seen that still looks fucking adorable with mascara running down her face.

I was too pissed off to think about that for more than half a second though, and carefully sat down next to her on the couch.

"Did you see his face? Who grabbed you?"

"He'd be easy to recognize, I broke his nose," she said with a sniffle. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't know what to do. The guys didn't recognize me, and they didn't tell me they were out here, I thought they were just customers," she sniffled.

"Shh, it's okay. What happened?" She finished with her tweezers, and I lifted her legs onto my lap, and disinfected the large scrape before I started wrapping up her leg for her.

"I tried to get back in once I realized they were here for me, but one of them grabbed me, and I lost my footing and fell. Alice and I were doing shots and I'm really fucking tanked right now." I chuckled softly, and the corner of her mouth twitched. "So, I was pissed, and I got back up and punched him in the face before Jake pulled me back inside." She started crying again. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have hit him, I didn't even think about it. Now it's going to be all over the news, I'm-"

"Bella, please, just breathe," I said gently, taping up the end of the gauze before I picked her up and sat her across my lap. Her arms wrapped around me tightly as she hid her face in my neck. "I don't care that you punched him baby, he fucking deserved it and I'm glad that you broke his nose, though I would have preferred to do it myself." She let out a small giggle against my neck, and tightened her hold on me. "Are you okay though?"

"Yeah, just… embarrassed."

"What do you have to be embarrassed about?"

"Being too slow. He never should have been able to grab me, let alone knock me down."

I laughed. "Baby, you can't be a ninja every second of the day. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's just the liquor that had you off your game."

"God, I love you so much."

"Mmm, good."

She laughed again, and leaned back to look at me. I felt like an ass but I couldn't help grinning when I looked at her. She was a hot mess. I swiped away at her tears and running makeup with my thumbs, trying to do a bit of damage control.

"So, you're not mad that I'm probably going to look like a crazy person on a bunch of magazines?"

"Nope, besides, no one but I knows how truly crazy you really are," I teased, and she rolled her eyes with a grin.

"Do you think Mac will be angry?"

"Not at you."

She let out a huff of relief, and slumped against me.

"I hate bachelorette parties. I'm so not having one."

"God, me neither."

"What, no strip clubs?"

"No way, but if _you_ want to strip for me you won't hear any arguments," I said with a grin, then kissed her throat when she laughed. She sighed, relaxing even more in my arms. "Are you sure you're really okay?"

"Yeah, I just lost my cool. I'm sorry that you got dragged out here," she said quietly. I shook my head.

"All I was doing was debating escaping to come here anyways, you put me out of my misery," I said dramatically, and she rolled her eyes at me.

. . . . . . . . . .

The wedding was beautiful, though I found being inside a little depressing when it was such a gorgeous summer day. My fiancé was looking fucking gorgeous in her little silver bridesmaid's dress, though she was grumpy wearing her 'hooker boots' as she called them, because it was so hot outside. She didn't want to ruin Alice's pictures with her bandages though. Her legs were shredded, which continued to enrage me whenever I thought of them.

She was just happy her dress had been long enough that the photographers hadn't gotten any 'good shots' when she'd fallen, since I'd kept that souvenir from our fun at the rehearsal dinner.

The only thing about the actual wedding that I hadn't liked had been the reception. My sister had a lot of contacts, all over the world, and most of them happened to be women.

A year ago, I would have loved it. Now, the flirting just annoyed the hell out of me. Bella wasn't the jealous type, and she had no reason to be because I'm sure that she was well aware by now that she was the only woman I even wanted to look at.

My fiancé thought my sullen mood was quite hilarious, really.

We stayed until the bride and groom left, spending most of the night with Emmett, Rose, and my parents, but once they headed out we needed to as well to catch our own plane. I had a scene to shoot tomorrow evening, after our appointment with the jeweler.

I pulled Emmett aside before we left, and his face was fucking glowing. He was drinking for two, as he had put it.

"Sup future bro?" He asked with a laugh.

"God, you're not even going to remember what I tell you, are you?" I asked with a frown. I didn't want to do this over the phone though, and I didn't want to have this conversation with Rose. Not in her condition.

I had to say something though, before it got too bad to be fixed. Bella needed me to, because I knew she'd never be able to voice her own fears. She'd let them go no matter how much it hurt her if she thought it was what the others wanted.

"Nah, I'm good, what's up?"

"You need to call Bella more."

He laughed. "What?"

"Call your sister more Emmett."

"We talk all the time, what-"

"I know you do, but when you call her you talk about baby proofing your new house, your pregnant wife, your future baby, and your work. I need you to just _talk_to her," I said nervously, looking around to make sure we were still alone.

"What's going on?" The humour was gone now, and he was watching me warily.

"You don't even fucking see it, do you? None of you do."

"See what?"

"How much this pregnancy is killing her. Do you have any idea how badly Bella wants to have kids? She won't say anything because she loves you too much, but I will. We're both happy for you, but I need you to stop shoving it down her throat."

"What-"

"And I need you to start calling her more often to talk about _nothing_ Emmett. Normal shit, TV or something. Because once Victor died, I don't think a single one of you have noticed how lost she is. She feels like none of you even need her any more. It depresses the hell out of her coming back here and feeling like she isn't needed."

"That's… that's not true," he stuttered.

"Oh, I know. She doesn't though. And me telling her otherwise won't do shit besides making her feel self-conscious. I know you have a lot going on, I get it, but your sister feels like she doesn't have anything to offer any of you anymore, and you guys haven't helped by not even noticing how much it's hurting her."

"And what are _you_ doing to help?" He spat back defensively.

"More than you. I take her to every one of her therapy sessions, I ask her what she does every day, make her talk about what she's thinking and feeling, and tell her that I love and need her every single fucking day."

He stared at me in disbelief. "She's in therapy?"

"Are you shitting me? You didn't even know?" I asked angrily. "She's been going since before we even moved. It's hard and she fucking hates it but she's doing it any ways. Start asking her about _her_ life Emmett. I'm doing everything that I can to help her, and I'll do it happily, but I'm worried that if things between you guys keep going like this then you're just going to drift apart too far. And she won't stop it because I'm pretty sure she thinks you want it this way."

"I… I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything to me. I just thought you deserved a warning, because I know how much you love her. You're going to lose her if something doesn't change, and if she loses you, I doubt we'll even come back to New York. I won't take her back here if going to make her this god damn sad. I hate seeing her like this. I'll take her to the Bahamas and we'll never come back."

"Is this supposed to be some sort of threat?" He hissed, stepping into my personal space. I stood my ground, looking at him sadly.

"Not at all, this is me telling you that I'll do whatever I have to do to make the woman I love happy. I love you Emmett, you're a great friend, but she's my fucking world and I won't sit back and watch her suffer," I told him gently.

He had nothing to say to that, but his face looked tortured. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I had to tell you. I didn't want to do it over the phone and I didn't want to put any stress on Rose. This conversation never happened, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't share this. Just start watching more Emmett." I patted him on the shoulder, then walked back to the ballroom, feeling Emmett following.

And I bet he saw it now, Bella leaning against a back wall, a safe spot where she couldn't be snuck up on, looking so lost in the giant crowd of people but still trying to keep a smile on her face. Her face brightened when she saw me though, and seeing her _real_ smile was a fail-safe way to bring up my mood. I walked up to her and pulled her into my arms, kissing her cheek.

"I love you," I whispered, holding her tightly.

"I love you too," she said happily.

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom then we can head out, okay?"

"Sounds good," she said easily. "I'll wait here."

I nodded, and made my way over to the bathroom, giving Emmett an encouraging nod as I passed him. I didn't actually need to go, but I washed my hands very thoroughly before walking back, just trying to give them a couple of minutes inconspicuously. Bella was with Emmett and Rose, while Rose talked excitedly about something, and Emmett looked like he wanted to rip out his hair as he watched his sister, finally seeing it. That her smile didn't reach her eyes, that she was putting on a mask for them, and that she just looked painfully lost.

But when she smiled at me, it was real.

"You ready to go babe?" I asked, pulling her into my arms. She nodded, looking almost relieved.

"Wait, B?" Emmett said, stepping forward and looking panicked.

"What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking, would it be okay if we came up and visited for a couple days? I'd love to see what you've been up to, and maybe we could have lunch with Marcus or something?"

She looked too shocked to speak for a moment, before a bright, hopeful smile split her face.

"I'd love that, we have plenty of room," she said happily, eagerly.

"I can't fly this late in the pregnancy Emmett," Rose said with a laugh, not seeing how the light quickly faded from Bella's eyes, and her smile once again became forced.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry Rose. Maybe another time?" Her voice sounded doubtful, and Emmett pulled his hand through his hair in frustration.

"No, we'll work something out, I'll come down on my own for a couple days," he assured her. She smiled, but still looked doubtful.

"Okay, well, we need to catch our plane. I love you guys," she said, hugging both of them. She didn't believe him and I knew she just wanted to get away from here. After our good-byes were said, we walked out together, and I kept a tight arm around her, hoping that Emmett followed through on his word.

I'd be content keeping her all to myself on an island, but I knew that there was a very large part of her that still needed her big brother.

. . . . . . . . . .

**The spotlight on them is getting brighter…**

**Do you think it was good that Edward stepped in and talked to Emmett? Or should he have tried to get Bella to address it herself?**


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm glad you guys supported Edward's decision to step in with Emmett. She needed the help, and he'd do anything to help her...**

**Like I said, there's only one more thing that I have to do. You're not going to like it, but it's for the best.**

**Song: The xx - Intro**

. . . . . . . . . .

"Cut!" Marcus called. "Edward, that was great, but I want you to try going again, this time starting three feet to the left. I didn't like that shadow. Make-up! I want a touch up on them. And Jane, that was good, but you're blinking too much," he told her.

"It's these contacts. My eyes are already brown, does it really matter that they're a few shades darker than this?"

He didn't even answer, it wasn't the first time she'd complained about it. She should be used to contacts by now. I stayed still, hunching over a bit so the short woman could touch up my face, before thanking her with a smile.

"You're nice to the fucking lackeys, why can't you be sweet like that with me?" She asked lightly, fluttering her eyelashes. I don't know how no one else could see the little fucking demon hiding behind her eyes, they all believed her act.

God, she _was_ blinking too much, it was going to drive me crazy now that I'd noticed it.

"It's a respect thing Jane. I was nice to you when you were respectful, now I have no reason to be."

"Stop playing hard to get Edward."

"Do you seriously have no idea how fucking pathetic you're being?"

"I was only teasing," she said with a pout. It was an act, and I just laughed.

"Places people!"

We shot the scene eight times because of Blinky, and I was in great shape so I didn't mind running down the street over and over again. Jane was a sweaty mess though.

She only looked like she was in good shape, and I don't know how her trainers hadn't gotten her ready for this. It was all part of the job. I saw what she had for breakfast too, a fucking orange. I was surprised she hadn't passed out yet.

I was practically drooling just remembering the leftover stir fry Bella had packed me for lunch. I ate it at ten this morning because I was so damn hungry, not being able to save it. Her work load had gone down by almost fifty percent with her new job as Jane's stunt double, not having to train Cloe, and worked half days a lot now.

Bella thought it was cool that her name was going to be in the credits _twice_. She was more excited about the credits than the actual movie I think, fucking weirdo. God I loved her.

And I loved working with her. As we got into the bigger scenes, we'd been spending a lot of time together. Because she was the stunt choreographer. She trained me in all of the fighting moves I had to do, same with Jane. That Newton fucker was always helping her though, and I still didn't like the way he was around her. I didn't like the way Jane watched her either though.

I loved that she seemed to like bringing me lunch. She was always so thoughtful about what she made too, keeping low in fats and high in carbs and protein, because it's what I needed. I would have loved a burger but knew it would have sat wrong all day in this heat.

That and I didn't know any burger places that served at ten in the morning.

Damn it, I still really wanted one.

I went back to my changing room to rest for a bit, cool down since I was done early for the day. It was barely past noon. Bella wouldn't finish for another three hours though, she was bossing around Newton in the green room today.

I dropped down on the cool leather couch, sighing as my head dropped back. I was fucking tired, four hours of sleep did shit all for me, and I didn't see the harm in taking a nap while I could.

Someone walked in without knocking on the door, but to my disappointment it wasn't my fiancé.

I groaned when my annoying shadow dropped down next to me on the couch. I knew that perfume too well now, and didn't even have to open my eyes. It was sweet and fruity, but way too strong. Bella never wore perfume, she smelt like fruit but it was from her shampoo, moisturizing cream, that sort of stuff. Going into the bathroom after she had a shower was like walking into a fucking fruit salad, it was awesome.

"Get out," I said irritably through clenched teeth.

She just laughed, and the couch didn't shift again. I sighed in annoyance. Should have locked the damn door.

"What do you want?" I asked in a tired moan.

"I want you to stop being such an asshole to me," she said curtly, and the tone of her voice took me by surprise. I opened my eyes and looked over at her, and she looked both pissed, and thrilled.

"Give me a reason to," I said with a laugh, laying back again and trying to pretend like she wasn't there. Wonder what Marcus would say if I called security on my co-star…

She laughed, and the sound gave me goosebumps.

"Okay, fine. How's Bella doing?"

"She's-"

I froze. I felt the blood drain from my face, and my body went cold. I sat up, and looked at her warily.

She had victory written all over her face.

"Such a shame, what happened. I can see why she'd want to keep it a secret. Imagine how embarrassing that would be, the whole world finding out that she'd been ruined by that freak. And then all those girls… living with their deaths on her shoulders must take quite a toll on her, but imagine how much worse it would be if the whole world knew who she really was."

"What do you want?" I hissed angrily, getting up and putting a bit of distance between us. She smiled.

"You know what I want," she said coyly.

"Don't you have any fucking self-respect?" I asked in disbelief. I knew she was a crazy bitch, but this seemed extreme even for her.

"I always get what I want Edward, and I do what I have to do to get it," she said with an easy shrug of her shoulder.

"You're pathetic."

"You really want to insult me right now?" She taunted.

"It's not going to happen."

"I thought you loved this girl? You put that big ring on her finger and treat her like a fucking princess, but you're going to subject her to all that pain? Because I'll have this story on TMZ by tomorrow."

"You're bluffing."

"No, I'm not. You walk out that door and it's done," she said with a sweet smile.

I started pacing, trying to keep my breathing even while she watched me like a shark. She knew she had me trapped.

This would kill Bella, she was finally starting to get a bit better. Emmett had visited for a couple days alone, and she'd been floating on cloud nine the entire time. She was getting better with her therapy, and… I think she might have even started writing again. Or taking computer programming or something. She was always on her laptop, typing, but she didn't want to talk about it. She just said she was working on some 'home work' that Sib had given her.

That in itself was a big step for her, standing up to me and saying no, keeping a secret from me. I knew it was hard for her, that her guilt made it near impossible.

Having her life thrown out into the open like that… I had no doubt it would destroy all the progress she'd made. I couldn't let that happen.

But the only way to prevent that would be to… No, I just couldn't do that.

I needed to talk to Bella, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I knew what would happen if I left this room, or even picked up my phone.

The realization that there was no good outcome for this settled over me, leaving me cold and numb.

I had to choose the lesser of the two evils though… I needed to protect her secret.

"So what, you want me to fuck you?" I asked, not attempting to disguise the disgust in my voice, because there was no way I'd be able to do that.

"No, I just want you to kiss me," she said gleefully.

I thought about it for a long moment as I glared at her. Weighing the options though, just kissing Jane was a lot fucking easier to live with then the idea of Bella's life being thrown to the sharks. I could do it, then get out of here, find her, tell her, and we could find some fucking leverage to use over Jane so she wouldn't leak. She'd forgive me for this.

"Fine."

I grabbed her by the arms, yanking her to her feet, and kissed her. I wasn't gentle, and hoped that I fucking bruised her. I'd never wanted to hurt a woman like this before, not even Tanya, but I really, really fucking wanted to.

"No, kiss me like you kiss her."

"No."

"Do you really mean that?"

I swallowed back the acid in my throat as I leaned in, gently kissing her, trying to pretend it was Bella. It didn't work, it was all wrong, and I wouldn't have been embarrassed at all if I threw up in her mouth. Actually, I'd really rather prefer to do that.

"Touch me," she breathed, and I wrapped my arms around her, sliding my hands down her sides. She was too fucking skinny, I could feel her bones.

"Sorry, don't mean to interrupt," a voice said from behind me, and I dropped my hold on Jane instantly as I spun to face Bella. I hadn't even heard the door open. She was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

She looked… way too calm.

"Baby, this what it looks like," I choked out, knowing the words were useless but not having any others to offer her. She didn't meet my eyes, she was looking at Jane.

"Really? Then what was it?"

"She knows, she was going to leak it to the press, I was just-"

"Knows what?"

"About Victor."

"Hmm." She walked over to us, still not looking at me, even when she spoke to me.

"Move Edward."

"B-"

_"Now."_

I stepped to the side, and Jane's face became wary as she took a step back from Bella. She matched it, she matched Jane's every step with a calm eeriness that frightened me until she had Jane backed up against the wall.

"I gave you a warning. I'm not a 'three strikes and you're out' type of girl. You ruined your chance. So here's what's going to happen; I'm going to break your fucking nose, and maybe your jaw if I feel like it. Maybe even a few ribs and an arm. I'm not going to do it today though, I'm not going to even tell you when. Just know that someday soon, when you're least expecting it, you're going to be walking, maybe smiling or laughing, maybe with a big group of people or while you're all alone, and then I'll just be there, and it's going to fucking hurt. So, get in contact with whoever built your last fucking nose and set a date for a few months from now, because I'm going to ruin your fucking face. I'll ruin your entire fucking life, and I'll be smiling as I do it." She leaned in, and whispered something to her that I couldn't hear.

All the blood had drained from Jane's face, she looked ready to faint and was trembling against the wall as she watched Bella with wide eyes. Bella didn't say another word, and just turned around, walking out of the room.

"I'll do it! I swear! Everyone's going to know who you are by tomorrow!" Jane threatened, getting a bit of courage back when Bella's back was turned. Bella just laughed, not even pausing in her stride.

I ran after her, almost tripping over a box of my favourite donuts from the bakery that was across town. She had dropped them on the floor, and left them there.

"B, wait!" I shouted. She stopped, turning to look at me with empty eyes.

"What?"

"I- I'm sorry."

"Okay," she said, and I waited for her to yell at me, slap me, cry, or _something_, but she just watched me. I frowned in confusion.

"Aren't you mad?"

Her neutral mask cracked as she looked at me, and though it was only a glimpse, the betrayal and pain I saw was enough to make me choke.

"I don't know. Maybe now we're even," she said quietly with a slight shrug of her shoulder. I froze in shock, anger, and disbelief.

"What?" I hissed. She'd cheated on me?

"You saw me kiss Victor, and now I had to see that." She looked down at her left hand with watering eyes. "Though, in my defense, when I let him kiss me, I thought you were dead. I thought I was too late, and I thought I was going to die. Letting him kiss me was my only chance at trying to avenge you."

I stared at her in shock. She'd never said that before. Neither of us had ever even mentioned that kiss to each other.

Because I already knew without words that the only reason she had done it was to kill him. I saw it.

"Bella-"

"You should have told me. I would rather you took the risk of letting it leak and told me instead of doing _that_. You could have just told me."

"I was trying to protect you."

"Well, you didn't. Anything would have been better than _that_. She was going to tell them either way Edward, no matter what you did. She was just trying to fuck with you, and you bought it."

She turned and walked away, leaving me frozen in place.

. . . . . . . . . .

She wouldn't answer her phone when I called. And I called. A lot. Constantly. I just called over and over, hoping to wear her out and get some sort of response. Anything.

It kind of worked.

**_Please stop calling me, I'm not ready to talk to you. Go home without me._**

I sat in my truck for hours, but eventually, I listened. But only under the vain hope that she'd be home too, my chances of running into her were better there than here.

She wasn't home though. I sat in the living room, in the dark, just feeling completely lost. I jumped almost two feet off of the couch when my phone vibrated, but it was Emmett, not Bella.

"Em-"

"What the fuck happened? Why is she doing this?" He demanded loudly.

"What?"

"Why'd she do it Cullen?! She didn't even call me first and-"

"Woah, Emmett, you've already lost me. Did she call you? Do you know where she is? What did she do?"

"She… she didn't tell you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Tell me what?" I was seriously starting to lose my shit here.

"Turn to a news channel, MTV, or ETalk, TMZ. Anything. Just do it."

I didn't hang up, I just reached for the remote and turned on the TV, only to be met immediately by Bella's stunning face. She was sitting on a pretty black leather couch, dressed in a pair of grey, torn jeans that looked like they were painted on her, and a blue lace top over a white camisole under her black leather jacket. She was wearing her black Harley ankle boots and had her hair up in a messy bun. No make-up.

This wasn't Bella putting on a show, that was _my_ Bella on that couch, sitting next to Marcus, across from Heidi Recetti from TMZ.

"-with world-renowned director and producer, Marcus Volturi, along with Ms. Bree Tanner, the woman who came out of thin air and took Hollywood by storm mere months ago."

Bella smirked. "That's putting it a little dramatically I think," she said with a bit of a laugh. "People were only curious because my fiancé and I had been refusing interviews."

She said fiancé, so at least she wasn't there telling people she'd left me.

"Yet here you are today," the reporter said with a bright smile.

"Yes, well, I figured this would be best to just get out of the way, and what better way than to sit and talk with you Heidi? You were by far the politest in your requests to meet with me, and I really respect your professionalism."

I felt the blood drain out of my face.

No, no no no, she wouldn't-

"Well, I'm truly honored. But, let's get to business. Why are you here today Bree?"

Bella looked at Marcus, who put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

That should have been me.

"Well, my name isn't actually Bree."

Heidi stared at her in disbelief, looking like she was waiting for a punch line, but none came.

"Then what is it?"

She was the picture of cool, calm, and collected as she answered her.

"My name is Bella Swan. Though I've been known by a lot of names over the years. Maria Dwyer, Stephanie McCarty, Samantha Nolan, and most recently Bree Tanner."

It only took Heidi a few seconds to compose herself, to her credit, before she snapped into action.

"Why? Why all the names, different identities? Were you hiding from the law?"

Bella gave her a sad smile. "No. You see, when I was thirteen I was attacked. I was abducted from my home, assaulted, and thrown out of a moving van on the highway. I survived, and I wrote my story to try to help find and bring justice to my attacker. Unfortunately, I only made it worse. I changed my story because my ending was not a happy one."

"And I took that story, and made it into a film. You would know it as The Hunter."

"Bel-… _Isabella_ Swan?" She gasped, and Bella tried to hide her wince at hearing her full name. I knew she hated it. "You were Victor Hunter's brunette," she stated quietly, and flinched under Bella's angry gaze.

Bella didn't snap at her though, to my surprise. I knew being called Victor's anything would have easily been enough to send her into a spiral, but instead, she just nodded, looking defeated.

"So, you see, I was in witness protection for a long time, hence all of the names."

"But why carry on with the charade until now? Why didn't you end it all when he died?"

"A few reasons. There are a lot of people that hold grudges because of the screenplay I wrote, who blame me for all those women dying. Just before I turned seventeen, the father of one of Victor's other victims tracked down my family, broke into my home, and my father died taking a bullet to save me. I don't blame him, any of them, for their hatred. It sickens me that so many women died for the sole reason of looking like me, and ending up in his path. And then, this is not a story I ever wanted to share. I've been looked at like a victim for most of my life, and it is something that I detest. I was scared. I didn't want the looks or the pity."

"I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to come here and share that," the reporter said in a thick voice. "I have to ask though, why now? Why did you decide to share this at all?"

"Because it was hurting people I loved, and I'm not naïve enough to think it wouldn't come out eventually."

"How could it hurt someone?" She asked in confusion.

"Someone outside of my circle of friends and family found me out. They used this, the threat of leaking my story, to blackmail people I care about into doing things they didn't want to do. Telling you myself takes away their power."

"Edward?" I heard Emmett's voice calling, but it sounded so far away. I just stared at the TV in disbelief.

Bella had gone on live television and faced her deepest, darkest fear. Something she never wanted to do, and something _I_ never wanted her to suffer through.

I'd failed in protecting her from that. She was there because of me. I knew she was right, and thinking on it now... I'd been a fool to think we could have gotten through this with her secret intact with this big of a spotlight on us.

I could still hear Emmett shouting from the phone that was lying next to me on the couch, but I just picked it up and hit the end call button.

I couldn't have said anything to him if I tried. I had nothing. I felt like I was drowning.

Bella's interview was playing on repeat it seemed, and I had to turn off the TV because I couldn't handle watching it again yet.

She walked in on that, then left pretty much saying she deserved it, then went on live television to break Jane's leverage on me.

Bella was right.

I should have just taken the chance and talked to her.

But instead I… Jesus Christ.

The alarm system beeped to inform me that the gate had opened, and I flew off of the couch, sprinting to the door. A black Mercedes pulled up to the front, and I watched Bella step out of the front passenger seat, and then let Zeus out of the back before waving and walking up the front steps. She was holding this giant, stuffed, purple unicorn, and it only took me a few seconds to remember where I'd seen it before. She'd gone to see Sib, on her own, before coming home.

She'd never gone to see her without me before, I took her to every single one of her appointments because I knew how painfully difficult and taxing they were for her, and I always had my appointments on the same day, just after her.

I opened the door before she could key the code, and she flinched away in surprise.

Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her nose was red, she was incredibly pale, and she was trembling.

She looked down quickly, then stepped around me to get inside without touching me.

"Bella, I-"

"Please don't," she said in a weak, trembling voice, clinging to the fucking unicorn. "I just… I can't handle any more today. I'm going to sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight."

"No, I can sleep in a different room if you-"

"I don't want to sleep in that bed," she said curtly, then ran up the stairs without a backward glance, Zeus hot on her heels.

I was physically incapable of leaving her like that.

But I didn't deserve to be near her either.

I walked quietly up the stairs, and then folded myself down on the floor, leaning against the wall next to her door.

I couldn't think, I just let myself drown in the painful, numbing silence.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Sooo… thoughts anyone? Either about Jane, Edward's decision, Bella's threat, her admittance about why she let victor kiss her, or her interview? You have options. Let the flaming begin...**

**Did anyone catch how Jane had gotten Bella's name? Only two people mentioned the clue I'd left back in chapter 24…**


	28. Chapter 28

**I know some of you didn't approve of what happened, but it's just the way the story played out. Maybe if I waited another month or two before posting that I would have come up with something different, but I didn't. Thank you for reviewing and letting me know your thoughts! Good or bad, I like hearing from you. I assure you, Jane's comeuppance will come.**

**Song: If you Could Only See - Tonic**

. . . . . . . . . .

I eventually decided that I needed to give her the space that she wanted. Forcing my presence on her when she just wasn't capable of dealing with me too would likely have done more harm than good. I couldn't hurt her any more. It was a battle though, forcing myself to get up and walk away from the room. My back was sore as hell after sitting there for who knows how long, but I silently made my way down the large, winding wooden staircase to the main floor. I knew I wouldn't sleep, so I took a shower and got dressed in some jeans and a white t-shirt.

I just moved on autopilot, making some coffee. Then I sat there in the kitchen with my phone, wallet, and keys as I drank my caffeine.

The silence was numbing, so much so that I jumped from the sound of Zeus jumping onto the floor on the floor above me. I looked over at the clock, and of course it was five, on the dot.

He was loud down the stairs, where Bella was completely silent. He ran over to me in the kitchen, and Bella didn't look anywhere but at her feet as she silently moved into our room, and I heard the shower turn on.

She couldn't possibly be thinking of going to work today. I stayed where I was and continued to fill myself with caffeine. I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

Forty minutes later, Bella came out in a pair of pale, short, denim shorts, a light-blue tank top and black and purple high tops. Her hair was up in a high pony tail and she had her gym bag slung over her shoulder.

"I'm ready to go if you are," she said in a small voice, making my heart clench.

"You shouldn't go in today, just call-"

"I'm not going to hide away in the house, and filming isn't going to stop because of my fucked up personal shit. I knew what I was doing when I did it, and I'll deal with the fallout. Can we just go?"

I got up from my stool, walking around to her, but when she realized what I was doing she turned and walked over to the garage before I could reach her. She was already closing her door to the truck when I got into the garage. She even had Zeus up in the front bench, creating a barrier between us.

I drove to the studio silently. Not a word was spoken between us until after we had parked and gotten out of the truck.

"I'll be finished by seven, but we'll just wait for you. I have the extra key."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Can I just… can I give you a hug before you leave?"

Her eyes watered, and my breathing became shallow as she shook her head slightly, looking like she really, really didn't want to be making the gesture. She wanted me to hold her, she needed me to. I could feel it. She wouldn't let herself though.

So, even at the risk of my girl putting me on my back in the parking lot, I stepped forward quickly, grabbing her before she could get away and pulling her against me to hold her tightly. Her entire body shuddered and a painful, quiet sob escaped her.

"I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I love you so fucking much Bella, and I'm so, so sorry."

"I love you too," she whimpered, then pulled away before walking quickly in the direction of her studio. She kept her head held high despite the fact that nearly every single person in the crowd she walked through stopped what they were doing to watch her pass. They whispered to their friends, and my anger was disorienting as I watched them feeding Bella's worst fear.

I walked to my set after checking my phone for my schedule, and the atmosphere was tense as I sat down with Jane and Marcus.

I couldn't pretend like nothing happened.

"You're a fucking bitch, as I hope karma ruins your life. I've never wanted to hit a woman in my life more than I do now."

"Edward-" Marcus gasped, letting me know immediately that Bella didn't tell him _who_ had threatened to leak. I turned to him, not hiding my rage.

"She did this to Bella, and I can't just look around that Marcus. I'm a good actor though, I'll still play my part better than anyone else ever could, but aside from my script, I'm not going to speak a fucking word to her. I can't do it, I can't stand her, and I can't be civil to her. It's going to take everything I have not to just knock her the fuck out."

Marcus I think only caught on to the important part.

"You were the one that threatened her," he stated coldly, and Jane was pale as a sheet.

"You can't fire me, we have a contract," she said in a trembling voice.

"No, I can't fire you. But I can make your life a living hell." Jane's eyes welled with tears. "Why? Why would you do that? What did she ever do to you?"

"She has everything!" Jane cried angrily, shooting up from her chair. "She's pretty, she's talented, she's smart. She's marrying LA's biggest star, one of the most famous directors known to America treats her like she's his fucking daughter, all this fucking shit is just falling into her lap and she barely lifted a finger for it. And to top it all off you're fucking dressing me up like her! Don't think I don't know I'm a fucking back-up choice, how do you think that makes _me_ feel? You can't say that you haven't seen the way she taunts me. It's not fucking fair! She can't have it all," she wailed.

Jesus Christ, she had to be the most selfish person I'd ever met in my life. She was five years older than Bella, but acted five years younger.

"You're so fucking wrong Jane. Bella's life has been hell and torture, one long nightmare. She had one chance to start over and live without her past shadowing her, to be a person and not a victim, and you stole that from her. You ruined her chance at freedom."

Her eyes watered, but I really wasn't sure if it was guilt, or frustration. Or maybe anger.

But what I really think it was, was her being upset that she hadn't gotten her way… or all of it. She wanted to hurt Bella, and though she stole her weapon from her, that Bella did it herself, I think Jane knew she'd still done her damage with what Bella had seen.

Damage I didn't know if I could repair.

Others started filing onto the set, and our conversation ended as we all got up and joined them.

. . . . .

We finished two scenes in the morning over four hours, before Marcus switched over to the next set, with a new crew. We had a while before we were needed, Jane and I, but I went along anyways. I hung back and watched curiously, slightly hidden, as Bella filmed her first scene. I had told her I'd be here to silently cheer her on, and though I doubted it was what she still wanted, I kept my promise anyways.

When she caught sight of me leaning against the wall, she didn't look angry and she didn't tell me to leave, which provided a bit of comfort.

She didn't look nervous at all. Not when she was directing Mike and the extras, and not when Marcus was directing the both of them. They worked really well together, and they had a huge audience as I watched the scene that I knew Bella had pretty much written herself. I knew that she'd personally trained every single person in that shot, choreographed it as well, and I swelled with pride as I watched it. It was cool seeing this shit in movies, but it was even more amazing watching it in real time. Bella and Mike fought their way out of the elevator, then the lobby, moving together naturally and easily in perfect synchronisation. They worked like they were two parts of a whole.

Jane and I got called back in, and it took Marcus a little bit, with a lot of help from Bella, to get both of us to overlap the ending of their scene.

Jane flinched every time Bella moved, and under any better circumstances I would have laughed. I just didn't have it in me though, not when my girl couldn't even bring herself to look at me.

He made us do it over, and over again. Running, running, and I knew what he was doing. Jane's legs were trembling from doing the shot over and over in those heals.

We were all shocked when it was Bella who put her foot down.

"Cut the shit Mac. You have the shot, and it looks like you're about to lose an actress."

Jane was looking at her with tears in her eyes.

"Thanks you, Bree."

"That's not my name, as you very well know," she said sweetly, making Jane blanch. "And you're still a fucking bitch. I'd just rather spend my time elsewhere then watching you _attempt_ to run."

"I know."

"Good. Mac, are we done yet?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Okay, that's a wrap! We're recording the voice overs in two hours people! Take a break to get yourselves cleaned up."

When I turned back to try to catch Bella before she left, she was already gone. I just caught a brief glance of her walking out a door with Mike. I dejectedly went back to my changing room, had a shower, got changed back into my jeans and t-shirt, then just sat there until my reminder for the recording went off on my phone.

. . . . . . . . . .

The days became monotonous, meaningless, uneventful as time continued to pass, and the days blurred together.

Bella couldn't even look at me, let alone talk to me, without her eyes filling with tears.

She stayed though, and that one little text she'd sent me after the first day back on set was the only thing keeping me sane.

**_I'm sorry. I love you, but I need time._**

She continued to sleep in the guestroom upstairs. She went to work every day with her head held high, despite the way people looked at her, whispered, cornered her and told her how sorry they were that she had to go through something like that.

She hated it, moving through it I know was pure torture for her, but she did it. Every single day.

Zeus stayed with her during the day, but… she would send him with me as soon as we got home.

I had the feeling that she didn't want me to be alone, which fucking killed me. She couldn't be with me herself, so she sent her only friend to stay with me instead. She'd rather be alone herself than to let me be alone.

She hid in that guest room from the moment we got home, until she came down to use our shower in the morning before we left.

We didn't eat together any more, but we still drove in together. Those drives were the highlights of my days, even though they were torture.

She hadn't left me though. She hadn't hinted at wanting to break-up, move out, get her own vehicle. She still wore her ring. That was my blessing in this, she loved me too much to leave me. She was just too hurt to be with me too.

I did the only thing I could do. I tried to give her time and space like she wanted, but made sure that she knew I was still here, waiting, hoping, praying that someday she'd be able to forgive me enough to let me touch her again, because she hadn't let me get close enough to her to try since that hug over two weeks ago.

It was killing me, or close. Torture. If she wanted to kill me, she would have left.

She just needed time.

I prayed that she still just needed time.

We were trapped alone in the house for the day as we packed for London. The whole set was shut down as everyone took the day to prepare.

We couldn't really leave to do anything, even if we had wanted to. There had been a horde of reporters trying to get their hands on Bella for weeks.

She was the biggest, juiciest piece of gossip Hollywood had ever seen.

It had been bad when they just wanted information on her because she was my girlfriend, and then they'd gotten hungry finding out about her work history. Well known procurer for the New York Historical Society, lead investor and shareholder in two of the biggest and most successful businesses in New York, her hobbies working security and teaching self-defence lessons.

Then she'd become a choreographer in a major motion picture.

Then a stunt double for an A-class actress in said motion picture.

And now, she was like a big fucking unicorn to them, and everyone wanted to catch her. She'd written a chart-topping screen play at the age of fourteen after being abducted and attacked by America's most famous serial killer.

She was Victor Hunter's brunette, Bella Swan was the woman America had been searching for, for the last six years almost. She was an award-winning fighter, she'd been in witness protection and on the run for half of her life, she'd gone to schools all over the country.

She was an unending gold-mine for the press, and Heidi Recetti is the only reporter she'd ever given a word to.

The wolves were ravenous and relentless. They slept in sleeping bags outside of our gate. I'd had to hire a security team just so we could get in and out of our property, otherwise they'd just fucking jump onto my wind shield.

Bella had hated it before, and I don't know what she was doing with it now.

I hadn't seen my Bella in those warm chocolate-brown eyes in weeks.

. . . . . . . . . .

She was taking Marcus' jet with me, but she didn't sit with me. She was lying on the couch with a drugged-up Zeus, petting his fur soothingly until he fell asleep when the plane steadied in the air.

Then she just curled up with him, her eyes looking empty and lost as she stared at nothing.

"Edward, you have to do something," Marcus whispered. Didi was sitting next to him, nodding with tears in her eyes as she watched her.

"There's nothing I can do besides give her space." I dragged my hand through my hair in frustration. "She's doubled her therapy sessions though, so even if she's not talking to us, she's still working on it."

He knew why, I'd told him what happened. I'd felt like I owed it to him to tell him that eventually something was going to come out about Jane, regardless of if it effected his movie or not. I had no doubt Bella would ruin her like she said, and I wouldn't stop her. I'd even hired my own people to look into her. He felt protective of Bella though, because he loved her. I knew her father had been one of his best friends. He'd never had children of his own, and Bella was like some sort of combination of god-daughter and niece to him. I couldn't push her though. I knew her better than anyone, and I knew she just had too much on her shoulders. I had to be patient.

She'd never shown any interest in dating, she'd never even kissed someone besides me before. I was her first everything, boyfriend, lover… fiancé. She had absolute trust and faith in me, and _only_me. I asked her to marry me, and then she'd caught me kissing another woman.

And to make it even worse, she saw it when I was trying to pretend Jane was_her_.

I'd been cheated on before, and I knew how much it fucking hurt. And it was never by someone whom I'd cared about as much as I did Bella. This was a first for her. I was really all she had, the only other person she talked to was her brother, and he was in fucking New York, trying to run two businesses and take care of a very pregnant wife.

But I also knew that Bella _knew_ there was nothing between Jane and I. She knew that I hated her. She was just hurt, hurt too much to deal with me yet.

. . .

We unloaded the plane in the pouring rain at the private landing strip in London. Zeus was glued to my side, bouncing around like a rabbit and being so fucking overjoyed at being on solid ground, as I looked for Bella. Just so I could keep an eye on her from an acceptable distance, after she vanished into thin air.

She was leaning against one of the vans, her face tilted up to the sky, letting the rain just wash over her.

She looked so sad, so lonely, but so fucking beautiful.

Like she just felt me, she opened her eyes, looking over at me.

"We're almost ready to head to the hotel," I said gently, and she lightly pushed off of the van. She walked over to me, keeping a careful distance as we walked over to our van. I got the door for her, and she climbed in first before Zeus jumped in with her and took up the rest of the back bench. I sat in front of her and the van filled up with more crew, and the cabin was filled with loud chatter as we went to the hotel.

Bella looked panicked when we pulled up, the place was already a damn zoo for the press. They called in police and put up those half-gates to keep the entry clear. After the other guys cleared out I followed, and waited under the blinding flashes as Bella climbed out. After she straightened up, face composed, calm and confident while half hidden by her sunglasses, she let out an easy whistle and Zeus navigated his way out from the back seat, and followed by her side as we walked in. She ignored the shouted questions, begging for answers about Victor. Did she kill him? Was she hunting him to? Would she be making another statement? Writing another movie? And ones that made me want to dive in and beat the shit out of them for having the balls to ask. Asking her if she had helped him, if they were in love. Throwing the names of all those girls at her like knives, wanting to know if she'd known them, or maybe picked them out herself for him. It was fucking sick what they were sinking to just to try to get a reaction from her. And it was all mixed in with questions about our relationship, the engagement. When our wedding would be and if we planned on having children.

No one else was close enough to see that she was trembling. I knew behind those glasses her eyes would be watering.

I checked us in, and watched as Bella scanned the room, pulling up a few bugs and even a small camera.

I took them from her, and went down to the main desk, reaming out the people working there. The girl looked like she was trying her damnest not to cry, and I felt like shit realizing that she had nothing to do with it. So I apologized and asked her gently to get the manager for me before I tore him a new asshole.

Our meals were complimentary for our three-week stay. Everything was complimentary, the owner had fucking begged me. He knew all I had to do to ruin him was walk straight out the front doors and talk. I'd have a hundred cameras eagerly awaiting me and my every word, it would only take me a minute. I told them to send up some burgers, salad, and something with chocolate in it. I hadn't seen Bella eat in over a day. Not last night, not before we left, and not during the eleven and a half hour flight. We left at five in the morning, and it was just after two in the morning here in London now.

Jet lag was going to suck.

I went back up to our room, and Bella was curled up in a blanket on the couch, typing away on a purple, sparkly laptop. As always, I couldn't help but just watch her for a moment because it was always so hard to look away from her. I took a small tour of the suite, and it was pretty nice. A comfortably large living room with plush, luxurious chairs and sofas in a warm cream leather, dark wood furniture accents. A fire place. It had its own small kitchenette and a dining table.

The bedroom was by far the most gorgeous room, dominated by a large, high, four-poster bed. The dark wood accents were carried through in the large frame and tables, as well as the warm cream colour in the large comforter, pillows, and heavy curtains leading out to a private balcony. The view was gorgeous, but my eyes were just pulled back to that bed.

I bet if I threw her on it, she'd just sink and get lost in the impressive fluffiness of it.

There was only one bed, and there was no fucking way my fiancé was sleeping on the couch, so I carried her suitcases into the bedroom, setting them up on the leather bench that was at the end of the bed. I put my shower shit in the bathroom with my suitcase of casual clothes, and hung my dry cleaning in the front closet so it would be taken out. Room service rang while I was there, and I took the cart from the young, stuttering and trembling kid. He couldn't have been older than seventeen, and I gave him a pretty awesome tip with a big thank-you when he said he could take my dry-cleaning too.

Bella was looking up, curiously and warily when I came in, then she saw the cart. The food looked and smelled awesome, but I knew I probably wouldn't be able to eat if I couldn't get her to. I pulled my hand through my hair nervously before I cleared my throat.

"You didn't eat anything this morning or on the plane and… I got bacon, extra pickles," I said with a hopeful smile.

She looked like she was having trouble breathing, and her eyes watered. I dropped down to the floor in front of her practically instantly. I needed to touch her so badly, every inch of my skin was burning and aching for it, but I couldn't.

"I'm so fucking sorry baby, I am, I hated every second of it and I panicked. There was no good option and I just fucking panicked. I had to take the chance to try to spare you from it."

"So you would have just lied about it?" She whispered in the smallest voice. It was the most she'd said to me in weeks, and every syllable was bliss and torture, every second being able to look in her eyes was the worst and best sort of pain.

"No, I was just trying to buy time. I just thought that it was the better option, kissing her instead of her sending out her info. I just thought it would buy us some time to get some leverage on her to stop her from letting it out. I panicked. Baby, you know that I've never liked her, you knew long before it that I couldn't even stand her. The only reason it happened was because of this," I said gesturing to her. "I knew what that secret would do to you, and… Bella, it's killing me to see you like this. You were right though, I should have known that she'd still leak it either way. I took a chance and I shouldn't have, it was wrong. But I don't even like her, and I love you more than my own fucking life. You _are_ my life. Please, just tell me what I can do baby, _please_ let me back in."

She was shaking, and crying, and struggling to breathe. I knew this was torturing her too, she wanted and needed me just as much as I did her. Our relationship was dependant, needy, greedy, and unhealthy. It was addictive and consuming, but it was _us_, and when we let it thrive were burned like the fucking sun.

She wanted me, but couldn't let herself.

"It hurts so much Edward," she whimpered. "I know you love me, but it's all I can see when I look at you. You kissed her and held her like she was _me_."

"Not because I wanted to, only because that was her condition," I pleaded. "Baby, that's the only fucking reason, I swear. It was wrong, it felt wrong, it made me fucking sick. You're the only woman I've ever been with like that. _Ever_."

She needed me to touch her, but I could see it was a lose-lose situation and choice for her. Touching me would hurt just as much as not.

But she loved me.

So I took the choice away from her.

I pulled her off of the couch, onto my lap and into my arms, holding her flush against me with a leg on either side of me. I held her tightly, maybe too tightly, but I had to. I crushed her against me and held her as tightly as I could. Desperately. That's what this was, desperation. I needed her to fucking live, and I knew she did too.

Her cries were so painful, each one tore at me in the worst sort of way. She couldn't hold me back, but she wouldn't push me away either. She let me hold her and cried herself to sleep against me. She didn't even stir when I lifted her up and tucked her into the luxurious bed.

I went back to the living room, not even bothering to get changed. I just hit the lights and dropped back onto the couch Bella had been sitting on, lying down. Zeus came over with a quiet whimper, lying down on the floor next to me. I started dragging my hands through his thick, soft fur, the only light coming from the large windows over-looking the city, and the blue blinking light on Bella's laptop.

My stomach growled, and I reached blindly for one of the burgers on the table. I smacked her laptop by accident, waking it up from its sleep and lighting up the room with its glow. I squinted against the light for a moment before reaching to close it.

But then I saw what it was. An open word document.

I shouldn't have… but it was impossible not to read.

'… Alec pulled out my chair for me as always, his eyes scanning the room for some sign of danger.

"There aren't any assassins hiding out in Program Coding one-oh-one Alec," I told him, trying to put on a convincing smile.

I was a horrible actress though, and he gave me that worrying, pitying look that I hated almost as much as Victor himself.

"That's what good assassins want you to think," he teased, and it was almost enough to make me laugh. "Why are we still in this class, any ways? You could teach this course if you wanted to. Just ask him to take the exam already, you finished all the course work."

I appreciated the compliment. It was the biggest thing we had in common, the love of messing with computers to the point of art. It almost made me feel like we were friends, but we weren't. No one got me like Angela, and once you have a real friend, it's easy not to need half ones.

"For the social aspect, of course," I teased dryly, and he snorted.

Alec was the extent of my social life at college, and he was a fucking body guard. I was his job, not his friend. Besides, he was like six years older than me.

Sometimes it was nice pretending like I had more than one friend though. I've been told my brother doesn't count, which is bullshit...'

I smiled, and kept reading.

'...In an attempt to cheer me up I think, Alec used the messaging network to snake into the professor's computer. I watched in fascination as he started going through his e-mails, looking for something good. Ignoring the knock on the door.

"Hey, B?" I looked up at Matthew, who was standing in front of me with a smile. He was always so nice to me, despite my anti-social behaviour, and being about five years younger than most of the people in my class. "Some guy named Mark said this was the other half of a project?"

"Oh, thank you!" I said, smiling. This was awesome, I'd be able to leave right after class now, and we'd all be back in time to have dinner at the diner in Forks. Dad couldn't bake for shit, and I was looking forward to my birthday-blueberry cobbler.

This class was boring as hell though, but not wanting to skip and ruin my perfect attendance, or talk to the creepy professor, I slipped in the CD to go over what he did.

There was some sort of virus on it. It took over my screen with a video, and the sound was loud through my headphones.

There he was. Staring back at me from my screen, wearing the same creepy smile he'd always reserved for looking at me. The last three years had made quite the difference in his appearance. He was bigger, his hair longer, and his eyes… there was a quality to them that was frightening. He looked unstable, crazy.

Dangerous.

That wasn't what made me gasp though. I didn't believe what I was seeing. There was Ang, sitting next to him in the back seat of some car. There was a strip of grey tape covering her mouth, muffling her cries as tears ran steadily from her puffy red eyes. She was in her pyjamas.

I knew from the way she was sitting that her arms were probably taped behind her back too. I knew that position too well.

Victor cleared his throat, smiling brightly as he draped an arm over her shoulders comfortably.

"There were a few discrepancies in your film Isabella, I thought I would address some of them in my own film. A sequel if you will…"

I screamed, falling out of my chair, ripping the headphones out of my laptop as I went down, and the audio filled the room.

"You two were always such a pretty pair, but her hair is much too long. You always look best with short hair, Isabella," he cooed, talking to Angela like she was me before taking a knife, grabbing her hair and slicing off the length of it at her shoulders.

Alec slammed my laptop shut, and was on his phone with his boss already, calling in and alerting his team. He forgot for a moment though, who I was, and reached out to help me up, making me break into a full on panic attack when he grabbed onto my arm. He dropped his phone once he remembered, just as quickly as he'd let go of me. I was already too far gone though. I don't even remember hitting the ground.

Sometimes, it was still easiest just to shut down.

Sometimes, I didn't have a choice, because my mind just wasn't able to process or handle it all any more.

Whenever someone touched me, all I felt was _him_.

The room was cleared when I finally came to again, and my brother was lying next to me on the floor, talking to me soothingly as he tried to make me meet his eyes. He inched closer and closer to me, and I shuddered when his hand eventually reached out and rested on my arm...'

I stopped reading then, because I couldn't take another second of it.

It wasn't like reading a fictional book, I knew what it was. It felt more like reading a diary, because Bella was writing out her life.

She _was_ writing again. I knew this was the 'homework' Sib must have given her.

I looked at the word count. I was close to the end of the document, maybe fifty pages from the end of it, but it was already over three-hundred thousand words.

A part of me was tempted to read it of course, but a larger part of me didn't want to. It terrified me.

That was a lot.

And I knew that there was a lot more to come in her story. She'd barely started.

I didn't want to read it. I wanted to know her past, everything, but definitely not like this.

I scrolled back up to where I'd started, then gently closed the lid. The words were still there though, burning through my eyelids. Her words painted such a clear picture for me; not just what she saw, but what she felt.

What she felt as she watched her best and only friend tied up, knowing that she was about to go through the exact same thing that had nearly killed her. It had killed her, just not in the literal sense.

I couldn't sleep, my mind was spinning, and I took a couple Xanax before I could drive myself insane.

. . . . . . . . . .

***Sigh.***


	29. Chapter 29

**Hello? Are any of you still there? I hope so. Time to get out of limbo.**

**Song - Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding (Don't watch 50 Shades with your mother. It's awkward...)**

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"Edward?"

I shot upright, her small, soft voice ripping me from my sleep like a bucket of ice water. She flinched away from my sudden movement, falling back and landing on her butt.

"Shit, sorry," I croaked, trying to jump up to help her, but she was already pulling herself up from the ground.

"S'ok… we have to leave in about an hour, I just wanted you to have enough time to take a shower," she said quietly.

She wouldn't look me in the eyes, but she was talking to me.

"Thank-you," I said softly. She nodded, and left again, her arms wrapped around herself tightly, like she was cold.

The room was warm and a little muggy though. I got up, and went around over to the bathroom. I jumped in the shower, then changed into a pair of jeans and a plain white tee before brushing my teeth and walking back out.

Bella was typing on her laptop, and now that I knew what she was doing, it made me uneasy with concern.

For weeks she'd been working through and recording her past like this, with no one to comfort her through it. I know she probably talked to Sib, but it wasn't the same.

I wanted to hold her so fucking badly. My muscles were tensed in my restraint.

Bella looked up at me, catching me watching. She looked back down quickly though, avoiding my eyes, and after a moment I saw her shoulders tense.

"You read it." It was a statement, not a question. I answered any ways.

"Yes."

Her eyes watered, and she chewed on her lip as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Which part?"

"It was open to the part about Angela's video when I bumped into it. I read two pages, until Emmett was there." I approached her cautiously, sitting down on the couch with her, just an arm's reach away. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she breathed.

I frowned, waiting for her to get mad, freak out, shut down… something.

But I got nothing.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You can read it if you want," she said with a small shrug, and got back up. "I don't care."

"No. If you feel like telling me about your past, then I'll gladly listen. I didn't like reading it though, it felt like I was reading a too-realistic diary. You're a good writer."

Her phone rang, and she walked over to the bedroom without a word to answer it.

"Hello? Yeah, we're leaving soon- What? Why?" She was quiet for a moment before she sighed. "No, I get it. I'll let him know too. Bye." She walked back out, carrying her umbrella and throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"Who was that?"

"Marcus, he's changed the scenes for today, wants to take advantage of the rain. It's supposed to pick up later."

"Oh? What are we doing?"

"You're playing in the boiler room. I'm going to jump off of a thirty-story building."

I gaped at her.

"Bella, I-"

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Not because of your scene, because it's in the script."

"Oh… right."

Way to give me a fucking heart-attack.

"You ready to go?"

I just needed a few minutes to pack my own bag, and then we were out. We left early, and stopped by a nice park so Zeus could stretch his legs and mark some trees in a new continent.

I felt like I was going to be sick as I waited in make-up, and both Jane and Bella walked out in matching outfits. Both in white-blouses, black slacks, black boots. Hair tied back in buns.

Jane was wearing contacts and her wig though, and her words from weeks ago echoed through my mind. I don't know how I hadn't noticed before, but Marcus _had_ designed the character to look like Bella. I wasn't the only person who thought the role had been made for her.

The role _had_ been made for her.

They were both told to sit, and about 2.3 seconds into it Bella put her foot down, asking the guy what he was supposed to do and said she'd do it herself.

"Sweetie, this isn't like normal make-up-"

"First, don't ever call me sweetie. Second, I've been living using disguises for the past five years. I know what I'm doing. Thanks."

He backed off. It was a smart move.

And he was impressed by her job. She looked better without the make-up though.

It was weird. Running the lines had been weird, but actually going through the one scene I had done with Bella, with Jane, was fucking torture.

I sucked it up, swallowed down my nausea, and pushed through though. It was different, because you couldn't fake the type of chemistry we had made. I didn't want to recreate it though, I didn't want to ruin that memory.

We worked through the kitchen, and then the hallway and stairwell, before breaking into that boiler room scene.

I could feel Bella watching me.

I didn't want to fucking do this.

But I was a professional, and I did.

"Well, I have a few ideas of how we could do that," Jane said in a seductive voice, running her hands down my chest. I smirked.

"Well, Love, I have a few ideas myself. But we need to be quiet."

"I can be quiet."

Push through, and it's done. And never again. Get it in one shot.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I said in a dark, low voice, grabbing her arms tightly and kissing her, hard. It was rough and fast, because I wouldn't have put it past her to fuck it up so we'd have to do it again. I didn't give her that chance, and I practically threw her when Marcus called cut. I walked away, dragging my hands through my recently-tamed hair. Carrie fucking hated me, and my hair, and my habit of ruining her back-breaking efforts at controlling it.

I looked up to where Bella had been watching a few minutes earlier, but she was gone.

"That was perfect guys! Excellent work, and great chemistry. Newton! Where the fuck is Newton?"

"Right here boss! Sorry, got sidetracked with Bella."

"Where is she?" He asked, looking for her too. Mike shrugged.

"Said she'd be up on the roof in time." Marcus didn't think they'd have enough time for the rest of the scene, but since it was inside he just pushed around the schedule.

"Okay, let's move people! Gotta get this done before the rain cuts out! John, what's the status on the balloon and canal?"

"Ready in ten Mr. Volturi."

"Excellent," he said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them with a grin. People started moving, and I grabbed Mike, pulling him back.

"Where'd she go?" I demanded, and he knocked me back with a shove and an angry glare.

"Like I'd actually fucking tell you," he spat, turning and leaving quickly.

I took the stairs instead of the elevator, needing to burn a bit of anger.

"Edward! There you are. Okay guys, huddle up." I joined the small circle, nearly jumping in surprise when Bella popped up out of fucking nowhere, materializing right next to me.

Christ, she smelled so good in the rain.

"So, we're starting in breaking through the stair well, and you break through the seven before pushing to the edge. Stop on the mark, we switch for the dialogue, and then we switch out the girls. You still okay carrying through B?"

She just nodded once, and the reality of what this scene entailed hit me in the gut.

I'd have to kiss her.

And I didn't want to. _That_was fucking weird.

Well, no, it's not that I didn't want to kiss her. I'd been dying to for weeks, dreaming of it. I just didn't want to kiss her when she didn't want me to.

We broke, and I stood off to the side as the guys went out and took their positions. We always had a big audience for these scenes, because they were fucking cool to watch. Bella shone brightly, and her hard work showed through its end result as she and Mike fought their way through a small crowd of agents. She was lethal and so painfully sexy when she fought, and the way her white shirt soaked through, hinting at her black bra underneath, would have been enough to make me hard if I wasn't so sick with unease.

They shot two takes, just to get some extra angles.

And then Mike was dismissed.

Jane and I took five takes to do the ten second scene in between, making sure the shots over-lapped properly. I was distracted, so it took me awhile to get the moves that Bella was telling me to do right. I was much better than Jane though, who still flinched every time Bella moved while in the same room as her.

And once Marcus told us that we had the shot, Bella swapped in for Jane. I watched her warily.

She was breathing heavily, waiting.

"So, when she turns to run, pull her back, kiss her, and then you push away and jump B, you got it?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "The balloon is set?"

Marcus radioed in, only for about the fiftieth time, and confirmed. Emergency crews were on stand-by.

We were both breathing heavily.

"You want to check it out again?" He asked her.

"No."

"Okay." The rooftop was silent for a long minute, the only sound was the rain pouring down heavily until Marcus spoke again. "Action!"

Bella turned instantly, and I hesitated to grab her.

"Cut! Edward, watch your cue!" Marcus called from the side. I nodded.

"Tell me no, and I'll stop this whole thing right now," I told her.

She said nothing.

"Action!"

She turned, and I didn't think. My hand shot out, grabbing her arm and yanking her back like I'd wanted to do countless times for weeks. Her hands braced herself against my chest half a second before my lips crashed down on hers, my hand slipping into her hair as my arm wound around her waist, clutching her to me.

Yes, I was taking advantage of the situation. No, I didn't feel guilty about it.

She didn't push me away.

I wouldn't have let her if she tried.

She whimpered against my lips, and her hands slipped into my hair, threading, gripping, pulling. I moaned into her mouth, my hands slipping down to her thighs as I lifted her up, and her legs wrapped around me.

"Cut! I said Cut!"

"Fuck off, I'm busy," I growled against her lips, and Bella laughed.

I almost cried out hearing that sound, I don't remember when I had last heard it. My hold tightened on her as my lips moved across her jaw, down her throat. I couldn't stop.

"Edward," she breathed, and I fucking choked at the sound, holding her as tightly as I could. "Edward? You need to put me down," she said gently.

"I can't," I choked out painfully.

She cupped my face in both of her hands gently, forcing me to look at her. Her eyes were watering before she leaned in and gently kissed my lips. "It's okay. You can put me down."

She saw my hope, and most likely my desperation. She kissed my cheek, reassuring me quietly that it was okay, and coaxed me into setting her down.

"Okay, how about we try that again," Marcus said in a dry voice, but I could hear a smile in his tone.

I couldn't smile, not until I saw Bella blush in embarrassment from the catcalls she was getting.

"Hey! _Watch it_," I warned in a dangerous, angry voice, which shut the guys up quickly. A tiny giggle escaped Bella, and _then_ I smiled.

"Ready?" Marcus called. I let go of her with a shuddering breath, taking a step back from her.

We watched each other for a long minute.

"Ready."

"Okay… Action!"

Bella turned, and I grabbed her just like before, pulling her against me as I spun her to face me. This time both of my hands cupped her face, and she melted against me in our heated kiss.

But then she pushed me back, and the smirk she gave me was all sex and taunting.

Then she turned.

She took a jumping step onto the ledge of the building, and leaped without hesitation.

My whole fucking world stopped, and I flew forward, making it to the ledge barely a second before she hit the large square balloon that was filling the canal thirty stories below. I watched, my pulse thudding loudly in my ears, as she rolled to the edge of the balloon. I knew it was going to happen, but the reality was much different than the theory. Marcus put a hand on my shoulder, and I heard Bella's voice through the walkie.

"Mac! Oh my god, _did you see that?!_ Please tell me you didn't get it, I _have_ to do that again," she gushed, and a slightly hysterical laugh escaped me.

"Sorry B, we got it, and it was perfect. Besides, you almost gave your fiancé a damn heart attack, I thought he was going to jump off after you for a second."

"Edward?"

I yanked the walkie from his hand. "Bella? Shit, please tell me you're okay," I begged.

"I'm fine," she said softly. "It was like jumping into a bouncy house, I've been training for that stunt for weeks. I'm good."

"Then why are paramedics looking at you?"

I think she looked up, she was an ant but I knew which ant she was.

"Just procedure, checking me for whiplash. I'm fine though," she assured me. Marcus chuckled, and took the walkie back.

"We'll all be down in a bit, and we're taking a short break to get cleaned up, but we'll see you soon B."

Marcus guided me back down with a hand on my shoulder, since I was barely able to think. My mind and body were over-loaded.

She'd kissed me back. I knew it wasn't an act, I could always tell when Bella was acting.

Every second waiting was physical torture. When she finally walked through the doors, wrapped in a thick blue blanket and shivering, I sprinted to her, freezing in my tracks inches away from her, unsure.

Her eyes watered as she looked up at me, and there were so many emotions in them. She looked so conflicted, and I didn't need any words.

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she hugged me back. The only reason I was able to ease up was because I was worried about how violently she was trembling. Her teeth were chattering.

It was strange, I hadn't even noticed I was soaked, or how cold it had been out there in the rain and wind, until that moment. I couldn't let her go, and since we were on a break for people to get cleaned up, I wrapped an arm around her and walked back with her to make-up, grabbing her bag before I dragged her back to my changing room with me.

Things got a little tense and awkward again, Bella had seemed nervous. I told her to take the shower first though, which seemed to settle her. If she'd been expecting me to just ravish her after our weeks of separation, it just proved how hurt by me she was right now. It wasn't sex that I needed, it was just _her_.

I just really fucking needed _her_. I needed her words, her voice. I needed to talk, I needed to know what she was thinking. What changed.

I needed to know if we were okay, because even though she was letting me touch her, the way that she looked at me frightened me.

She came out, freshly showered and wearing a pair of pale jeans that were fucking made for her, and a loose, long sleeved, black cotton shirt that hung off of her in the most tantalizing way.

I just kissed her temple though, savouring the smell of her shampoo and soap, before I slipped into the bathroom. I made quick work of it, yanking on my boxers, jeans, a white t-shit and a grey hoodie when I finished, before I went back out.

"Mac just called, they need you back in make-up to get ready for your next scene," she said gently, and I shook my head. No, I needed to talk to her, if she shut down again before I got the chance, if I lost this spark of change in her-

"Edward, it's okay-"

"No, it isn't. We _need_ to talk Bella, I can't wait any more, I- No, I can't." My mind was over-loaded again and I started to panic. She got up though, and when she came over to me, she hesitated for a moment before gently wrapping her arms around me.

"I'll still be here to talk when you're done," she said softly.

"Will you be?" I asked worriedly. She knew what I was asking.

"Yes."

"I need you to promise me, I can't… I can't lose you like that again, if there's even a chance, Marcus and his movie can go fuck each other, I don't care."

"I'll still be here, and we'll talk. I swear."

"Are you coming with me?"

"No, I'm going to go pick up Zeus from his babysitter, and then I need to go check out some of the locations for some of my scenes with Mike to save Mac some time. I should be back at about the same time as you finish up though." The schedule was all fucked up for today and I had no fucking clue what was going on any more. "Five hours, you're doing three scenes," she said, reading my fucking mind.

Witch.

I smiled.

"Have dinner with me?" I asked gently, cupping her cheek with one hand. She gave me a hesitant nod.

. . . . . . . . . .

I was on the phone every break and spare second I had, coordinating with this guy named Tuck at the hotel. I just wanted to make sure we could have a nice, relaxing dinner together when we got back.

She said she would talk with me, I wasn't naive enough to assume she'd forgiven me though, even if she had kissed me.

Working with Jane had gotten a little easier, just for the fact that she kept her mouth shut more. Which was smart. If she thought playing up the guilt was going to win her any sympathy, she was wrong. And I knew that her guilt wasn't genuine

I didn't fucking trust her. I was getting impatient for my private investigator to find something on her. She may have been watching her step, but there had to be _something_ on her.

There was nothing she could do in one lifetime that could make me even think of forgiving her for everything she'd done to me, Bella, and our relationship. And what she'd made _me_ do to Bella and our relationship.

And I had no pity for her. It was obvious that Bella's threat was slowly eating away at her. I'd seen the black circles under her eyes before make-up got to her, how skittish she was, always looking over her shoulder. Or maybe she just started doing drugs or something. I didn't know, or care, though it would be nice if someone caught her in the act and got some photos. I'd mentioned it to my guy.

**Are you sure you want to use the couch? The dining table is quite nice.**

**No Tuck, the couch. Please.**

I didn't want a table between us, I wanted to be comfortable. I wanted to talk and I didn't want it to be formal. I still wanted it to be nice though.

**I can't get blue, there's Red, White, and Yellow.**

**White.**

**Are you sure you want steak? They're quite well known for their seafood.**

**Nope. Steak.**

"Edward? Come on, we're waiting on you."

"Sorry."

"What are you doing?"

"Practising the ancient art of wooing, Marcus," I said with a wink.

"Okay, no details are wanted nor needed," he said quickly. "Now get your ass back over here."

"Wooing, huh?"

"None of your fucking business," I shot back, and she looked down at her feet.

"Why are they so close? Is it because of the movie-"

"Seriously, fuck off. You're mentally challenged if you think I'm going to tell you shit."

Her eyes watered, but I still didn't fucking care. This was her own fault. I think I'd actually turned into a pretty nice guy over the past year, getting in touch with feelings and shit. She went and fucked that over though.

I didn't think we'd finish on time. Jane kept screwing up her lines, forgetting them. Blink Blink Blinking away.

Every single thing she did seemed to piss me off now. The way she looked, talked, moved, smelled.

It was driving me fucking crazy, and I think my bad mood started grating on the others. Six hours later, Marcus just called it quits and told everyone to go back and get some sleep. We were all cranky.

Time changes suck.

But thank fuck for Tuck.

He'd been able to push everything back for the delay, and when I walked off of the set and found Bella playing fetch with Zeus in the long hallway, it was like someone had shot me up with some drug and all of my irritation dissolved away. She noticed me when Zeus ran past her, dropping his ball at my feet and shuffling excitedly. I whipped it hard, and he shot after it. I hit the metal door all the way at the end, and he almost wiped out trying to do a one-eighty on the linoleum floor.

"How'd it go?"

"If I said blink blink blink…"

"Oh, dear god, that's been driving me crazy. Isn't being able to deal with contacts like, part of your job description?"

I laughed. "Exactly!"

God, I was sucking up and bathing myself in the moment, of us being normal. It made me so happy and hopeful that it fucking hurt.

"You know, when you eaves drop, you're going to hear things you don't want to hear."

"Huh?" I asked in confusion, then turned when she nodded. Jane walked out. My fists clenched automatically.

"Can we talk?"

"Nope," Bella said easily, stretching longly with her hands above her head, reaching for the ceiling. Her shirt lifted up, showing off the stunning nebula cloud that came out of the feathers on her waist and trailed down to her hip.

"But-"

"It's really not going to make any difference. You're just wasting your breath."

"But you're still going to try to break my nose?"

"Break your nose? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You… you said-"

"No, I don't remember saying anything like that. All I remember, Jane, is you blackmailing Mr. Cullen here into, what, kissing you?" She asked with a laugh. "That's kind of pathetic, if you ask me." Jane's hand shot to her stomach, and Bella smiled before stalking forward.

I was a little fucking confused, to be honest, but I'd learned that if you don't know what's happening in the movie, it's better to wait until the scene is finished before asking questions.

Bella stopped right in front of her, and Jane flinched when Bella grabbed her hand, and pulled up her shirt.

Showing the wire she had taped to her stomach.

I snorted, and tried to cover my laugh.

"Wear a sweater next time, you can see the outline of the battery pack with such a skimpy, thin shirt." Bella whistled loudly, and Jane screeched when Zeus ran over. "Calm the hell down, he's carrying a tennis ball, not a grenade," she said with an eye roll, and started walking away. I jogged along behind her, wanting to throw her against the wall and take her right there. She was so fucking sexy when she got all… lethal.

And then when she felt me staring and looked over at me, she fucking blushed.

My pretty little conundrum.

"What?" She squeaked nervously, and I cautiously wrapped an arm around her, my hand resting on her waist, and she let me.

"I just really fucking love you," I whispered. Her eyes watered, and my heart shot out of control as I stopped. "No, baby, please don't cry," I begged, combing my hands back through her hair. She took my wrists though, gently pulling my hands away, and my stomach rolled.

"I don't want to talk here," she whispered.

I nodded, not having any words. She slipped on her sunglasses, and I did the same as we walked out of the building and through the crowd to our waiting car. Well, SUV, Zeus wasn't too comfortable in cars, he needed a big cabin. I texted Tuck, giving him his forty-minute warning, and asked if Bella would be up for a walk in the park first.

Zeus was thrilled to stretch his legs outside, and we played fetch with him as we took a twenty-minute walk around the small park.

And I was procrastinating, because I wasn't as hopeful as I had been earlier. My stomach just climbed higher into my throat the closer we got to the hotel, and then the closer we got to our room, all in complete silence.

I opened the door with my card, ushering her and Zeus in first. I kept an eye on her as she toed off her boots and walked inside. She froze when she made it out of the foyer. I stopped behind her and looked over her shoulder.

The living room was lit only by two dimmed lamps, because personally, I thought candles were over-rated. And dangerous when you lived with a shaggy pony. It was just enough to give the room a warm, gentle glow though, and on top of the dark-wood coffee table in front of one of the luxurious couches were two covered dinner plates, bread, a bowl of salad, and a small tray of miniature pastries and chocolate. A bottle of white wine was sitting on ice next to a bouquet of white roses.

It was exactly what I wanted; comfortable and subtle, nothing too overdone because Bella liked the thought, not over-the top gestures and shows.

She still hadn't moved, and I would have wrapped an arm around her if I wasn't so sure she'd remove it.

"You said you'd have dinner with me," I reminded her gently, hopefully.

She turned, and I didn't think I could take much more of this. Not when I saw that uncomfortable look in her eyes.

"That's very sweet. Thank-you," she said softly. I nodded her forward, and she took a seat.

I took the lids off of the trays once she sat down, and put them in the kitchen on the cart, smiling as I saw Zeus inhaling his own dinner, sending kibble all over the floor. I took a steadying breath before I went back out to join her, and she'd moved off of the couch, sitting on one of the over-sized couch-pillows on the floor in front of the table.

I grinned, seeing a second one put out for me right next to hers. I folded down next to her, and went to pour us each a glass. She stopped me.

"No wine for me, I can't drink."

I looked at her in confusion, but set the bottle down. "Why?"

"Medication," she whispered. My breath caught.

"What medication?" She let out a sigh, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"I said we could talk. Would you mind if I started?" I shook my head and she leaned back against the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I should have talked to you sooner. I'm sorry. I was overwhelmed, angry, and I shouldn't have done what I did without talking to you about it first."

"I would have been there for you Bella, I never would have let you go through that alone. I never wanted you to go through it at all."

"I know," she said painfully.

"That was the whole point of all of it, to avoid you going through that. And then you just went through and did it without a word." I tried not to let myself get angry, because I knew I didn't want to be mad at her. I wasn't good with dealing with my anger around her.

"I know," she choked. "Jane wasn't bluffing though."

"How do you know?"

"Because she sent the story to TMZ before she even saw you. Heidi called _me_, it wasn't the opposite way around. Most of that interview was an act. I told her that if she didn't air Jane's story I would talk to her myself. She was professional, wanted her facts confirmed, and was just a decent enough human being to give me a chance at avoiding a bigger fall-out. I just said everything she would have said had I not been there any ways. Mac and Sib agreed that it would be better coming from me than an anonymous source."

"Emmett called, that's how I found out."

"I know. I'm sorry."

I could tell that she meant it, that she did regret it, but I wasn't sure what to say to that. We both had regrets.

And though I didn't like what she'd done, how she'd blind-sided me, I couldn't bring myself to hate her for it. Not when I knew how hurt she'd been, and not when I agreed that it was better coming from her than an anonymous source.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered.

"Just tell me what you're thinking," I pleaded, tentatively taking her hand. She didn't pull away, her eyes watered as she watched our entwined fingers.

"I'm so mad at you, even though I feel I have no right to be. I'm so fucking angry. You're so much smarter than falling for her bullshit, and the fact that you did it makes me think that a part of you wanted to."

"I didn't," I hissed. "I fucking panicked, okay? Yes, I was wrong, but in the heat of the moment taking a risk and just kissing her was easier to live with then being responsible for you going through this!"

"I know! You think I'd still be here if I didn't? I would have left already if I didn't believe you. You asked what I was thinking though, and that what I think. I'm angry and I hate myself for it. You think I like hurting you? Well, I don't. Every fucking second away from you is torture. I hate it, and it's all my fucking fault for trying to hide this shit in the first place. I knew it would come out and I was weak, I wasn't ready, so I hid it any ways. You want to know what I think? I think you deserve so much better than this. I'm trying Edward. I love you more than anything in the world, I'd give up everything for you. I tried doing the therapy, to be better at this. I don't _want_ to be like this, but it seems like no matter what happens there's always going to be something getting in our way. I just keep screwing shit up, I can't seem to do anything right. I'm not cut out for this, and I can't live with hurting you like this anymore."

I saw what she was going to do, reaching for her left hand as she cried, but I grabbed both of her wrists.

"No," I hissed, and she froze, looking up at me with tears streaming down her face. "Don't you fucking dare. We're not over Bella, we're going to talk through this, and work it out."

"Edward-"

"No, it's my turn to talk. We've been through worse shit than this. We got over fucking Victor together, and we'll deal with Jane. You know the only reason I kissed her was to try to protect you. You can be mad about that, and hurt, but I need you to decide if you can live with it or not. Because despite how mad I am about what you did, I still love you. And I'm willing to work on this. I think I did the right thing though." When she tried to shift I pinned her to the floor. We were talking this out whether she wanted to or not. "No, no more hiding. Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing, if you thought it stood a chance of protecting me."

I waited her out until she answered, not breaking eye contact.

"I c-can't."

"You know I'd never do that to you. You know I made a bad call, that I was cornered, and that I only did what I did to try to help you?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Good. Now here's the thing Bella. Just like you can understand why I did it, I can understand why you did what you did. A lot of shit came down at once and you did what you thought was best. You were too hurt to come to me. I get it. I don't fucking like it, but I get it. We both fucked up. I'm willing to work on it, because I meant it when I told you that I loved you more than anything. Everything. That I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and only you. But I can't do this on my own and things are going to have to change.

"I know you better than you think I do. I get that your life was fucked up, that it was different, and that it's made you different. I get how hard this relationship is for you, how hard _all_ relationships are for you. I get that you're more comfortable dealing with things yourself, on your own. That it frustrates you that you feel like you're not normal. I can see why you might feel like it won't get better, that you feel trapped being a certain way, but I don't think you've seen how far you've come. But Bella, I love you for who you are, every part.

"That's what I need you to come to terms with. I need you to accept that I love every part of you, the good and the bad, and I need you to let me decide for myself what I want. Because I can't deal with you trying to convince me to give up on you anymore. It makes me feel like you _want_ me to give up on you. Is that what you really want?"

"No," she said, shaking her head with her eyes shut tightly. "It's not."

"Do you truly want to be with me? Or are you giving up on this? Have you changed your mind?"

"No," she sobbed.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't want to lose you."

"Why?"

"Because I love you more than anything in the world," she breathed, meeting my eyes. I gave her a slight smile, releasing her wrists and gently helping her back up.

"And I love you too." I checked her wrists carefully, my hold hadn't been too tight but I was still worried. She let me, just watching me with this broken look in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"So am I," I told her gently. She inched closer to me, unsure, but when I pulled her into my arms she clung to me tightly. I just held her, letting my body relax, soaking in the contact that it had craved so badly. I relaxed, because I did think we were okay, but I was well aware that Bella was still badly shaken.

I wasn't sure if I needed to push her, to make her just get everything out of her system, or if I just needed to try and calm her down.

I cupped her face in my hands, watching her carefully, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. A fresh wave of tears escaped as she looked at me.

"I'm sorry that I shut you out. That I acted like that. I wasn't trying to hurt you, I didn't want to hurt you, I swear. I didn't know what to do, I'm so sorry Edward. I didn't want to, I hated every second of it but I couldn't handle it, I-"

"I know," I said gently, interrupting her rushed, panicked words. And I did. Because I knew she loved me too much to purposely hurt me. Bella may be a vindictive person, but she wasn't with me. She just wasn't good at dealing with her emotions. I held her tightly again. "I know you didn't."

And as I held her, I felt her slowly start to relax in my arms. Or maybe she just ran out of energy. Either way, she didn't feel like she was about to have a panic attack any more. She was too shaken to eat much, and I stopped pushing her to not long after. She didn't fall asleep though, and she didn't move until her phone went off.

I let her go, and she took it out of her purse, silencing it, and she took a bottle of pills out too, taking one and then stuffing them away again discreetly. I still saw though.

She looked nervous when she came back to me.

"Can we... go lie down?"

"Yes," I agreed instantly. She helped me clean up quietly, and then we both got changed and slipped into bed. Zeus followed, making himself comfy at the foot of the bed, and we let him. The relief was intoxicating as she curled into my side, and I held her closely.

I tried to make myself wait, to maybe address it later after we'd both dealt more with what had just happened, but I couldn't. I was too worried.

"What are the pills for?" I asked quietly. She went rigid in my arms, but I held her, and waited it out. When she spoke, I could tell that it was difficult, that she had to force the words out. Her voice was tight with her strain.

"I... I started having trouble sleeping when I started writing again. It started messing with my head, and then the things with Jane happened and..." She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper when she continued. "It got worse, and I fainted a week and a half ago on set. Didi took me to the hospital, and Sib came to help me with the doctors. They just gave me something to make me sleep."

"Bella, I-" Fuck, I tried to force myself to be calm, because it's what she needed right now, but it wasn't fucking easy. Just going to the hospital would have been traumatic for her, it had taken her months to build a tentative relationship with my father.

"No, it okay. It's really not that big a deal. It's just temporary, just… just for a couple weeks." Her voice was becoming a little squeaky in her panic. "They just knock me out for a few hours, I didn't want anything more serious than that."

"There's nothing wrong with needing a bit of help, don't be embarrassed about that," I said gently. I hated that her writing was doing this to her, but I wasn't able to tell her to stop doing it. I knew that Sib knew what she was doing, and I know that she needed to work through her past. I just hated that I hadn't been there to help her through it. "How's your writing going now?" I asked carefully. I felt so disconnected from her, I needed to know what I'd missed.

"I... it scares me, and it makes me sick. But it's... liberating almost. It's easier to be honest there then it is with Sib."

"And therapy?"

"I hate it, but she... she makes me look at things from different perspectives. She's good at making me talk, and it's getting a bit easier to do it each time."

I combed my fingers back through her hair, pushing it away from her face, and her eyes closed under my touch. I couldn't stop myself from leaning in and kissing her, and rested my forehead against hers when I pulled away, pulling her closer to me.

"And everything else?" I asked cautiously. She was shaking a little, but I needed to know. "How are you feeling?"

It took her a couple minutes, and I could tell that it was hard, that she was forcing herself to say the words, that she'd rather suffer in silence than worry me.

"I feel... disjointed. And tired. It all feels sort of surreal, like this isn't my life. People are always shouting at me, and... I can't get used to hearing my real name. Every time someone says it I feel like something bad is going to happen. Then the questions... sometimes I feel like I'm going to snap and jump over those fences."

"They're desperate, they want to get a rise out of you," I said, once again forcing calm into my voice as she clung to me. It killed me seeing how far she had fallen in only a few weeks.

"I know. It feels wrong though, knowing people are talking about me and not being able to monitor it. My program only worked when I was a nobody, it's useless now. And I can't look on the internet again."

I groaned. "But you did go on the internet?" Her silence was all the confirmation that I needed. "I'm sorry, and I know it's easier said than done, but you can't let that get to you-"

"I know, I'm not going to do it again," she said quietly.

I wasn't sure what else to say. It was still kind of surreal, lying here with her like this. Touching her. I couldn't stop touching her. I traced up and down her arm, her collar bone, her neck, along her jaw, not being able to resist smiling. When I met her eyes though, she looked worried, and so fucking sad.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry, but… I just missed you so god damn much. I don't want to stop touching you. I can't." Her eyes watered.

"These last weeks were the loneliest weeks of my life, I missed you every second." She leaned into me, her hands moving up my chest tentatively. "I missed you so much that it hurt. Every second was torture."

Cautiously, I leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss against her lips, and her breath caught painfully as her arms wrapped around my shoulders and she held onto me tightly.

"I can't do that again Edward, I can't take it," she choked out. "_Anything_ but that," she begged, and I kissed her hard.

"Never," I swore. "Ever Bella. I'm done with this whole fucking business. I don't want anything to do with it any more. After this, I'm done. I swear baby, _never_."

She cried, and kissed me fiercely. "I love you so fucking much."

"I love you too, more than anything, always."

And it was too soon, but neither of us could stop. Maybe we should have waited, but we couldn't. It was slow, each of us losing a piece of clothing at a time, cautious touches and caresses. We both needed the contact, and I didn't stand a chance of backing away, not with her soft voice pleading like that.

"Tell me again Bella, please tell me we're okay," I begged, kissing her neck.

"Always," she whimpered.

"You'll still marry me? You'll still be my Mrs. Cullen?"

"If you still want me," she breathed, making me stop as I hovered over her.

"You know I do," I said seriously, making her look into my eyes. "Do you forgive me?"

She sniffled. "There's nothing to forgive," she said shakily, and I could easily see the worry, regret, and self-loathing in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," I soothed gently, because I did. I knew Bella better than I knew myself. "I forgive you too, you know."

Her eyes were shimmering before she pulled me down to kiss me. I needed to hear her say it though, I needed the verbal confirmation. "Bella, please," I pleaded.

"Yes, I still want to marry you. I'd do it right this minute," she whispered, and I kissed her again as she pulled me closer with her legs around my waist. "There's no one else I want to be with, only you."

"I don't want to wait," I admitted. "I want to get married as soon as we're done filming, I want us to start over and put all this shit behind us."

"Really?"

"Yes," I said, kissing her again.

"I want that too," she said, and my last bits of fear melted away. Then it was just desire, and need. I needed her so fucking badly.

And she made sure that I knew that she needed me too. It was slow, and gentle, and everything that both of us needed. When she curled into my side afterwards, I wasn't worried that we'd jumped back in too fast. It felt right, and I knew she felt the same.

"Edward?" She murmured quietly, sounding close to drifting off. I know I was.

"Hmm?"

"I need you to call your guy off of Jane," she half whispered. I shouldn't have been surprised she knew.

"Why?"

"Because he's getting in my way."

I sighed. "Okay, I'll call him in the morning."

"Thank you."

I was quiet for a couple of minutes, but the curiosity made it too hard to fall asleep.

"Bella?"

"Mmm."

"What are you going to do?"

I thought she might have already fallen asleep when she didn't answer for a minute, and her words were slightly slurred when she spoke.

"Exactly what I said I would. I'm going to ruin her life."

. . . . . . . . . .

**Of course they're okay. My stories are HEAs.**

**Have any of you ever gone skydiving? Bungee jumping? Cliff diving? It's always been a dream of mine, but unfortunately, my spine is just too messed up for it. I went in this slingshot ride at LaRonde (Six Flags) once though, eons ago, and that was terrifyingly amazing. Well, minus the cliff diving. I have no desire for that. I had to jump off of the high-dive in basic, and that was traumatizing enough. Me and water don't mix.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Song: One Headlight by The Wallflowers**

. . . . . . . . .

I woke up to Bella's alarm going off, but she didn't even stir.

Not that she would have been able to move with the way my body was pinning her to the bed. I rolled off of her with a groan, reaching for her phone on the night stand and picking it up.

Her reminder was a warning for me, not for her. Kind of. Her schedule was organized to the point of concern, her note giving her enough time to wake up and have a shower before she needed to wake me up to do the same.

"Mmm, baby?" I said, kissing her neck.

She didn't even stir, and that scared away the last bit of my sleep. Bella was an incredibly light sleeper.

If she hadn't been breathing deeply, I might have thought that she was dead. Still, I panicked a little before I remembered her telling me last night that she's been having to pretty much tranquillize herself to sleep lately. I set her phone back down, settling back on top of her as I brushed her chaotic hair out of her face, then kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheeks, her jaw.

"Baby, it's time to wake up," I said gently. I didn't want to scare her awake, and I had no idea how powerful those pills were. I just continued to whisper her name as I kissed her, and she started to stir after a few minutes.

"Mmm, Edward," she murmured quietly, making me smile. I kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Wake up baby."

She just hummed, looking like I was losing her again. I couldn't help the smug smile that stretched across my face though, just looking at her. God, how I'd missed this.

My feelings were still torn over yesterday. Too much had happened, and too much had been said. Good and bad. I hadn't lied when I'd told her I'd forgiven her, because she did what she thought was best in a lose-lose situation. Just as I had. And she had forgiven me. She was hurt, but she understood it. She loved me. And for me the bottom line was that I knew without a doubt that I wanted her in my life forever. She was _it_. We still needed to talk more, but right now, looking at her like this, there was only one thing I wanted to do. I grinned, kissing her neck, and she let out a soft moan as I slowly made my way up to her ear.

"Bella," I whispered.

A lazy smile stretched across her face.

I nipped at her shoulder, and she shivered before her hands moved up my stomach, my chest, then wrapped around my shoulders.

"Edward," she breathed again, and fuck me if it wasn't the sexiest sound I'd ever heard.

"Wake up baby."

"You feel so good," she whispered and she shimmed down a bit underneath me, opening her thighs, and sighing as I slipped over her wet heat. I groaned. It's not that I didn't want to give her what she wanted, I was just pretty sure that she wasn't actually awake.

"Baby, I'm going to need you to tell me you're awake, because I'm not going to fuck you while you're asleep." I hissed as she rubbed herself against me, and her hands slid into my hair as she pulled my face down to kiss me. It was slow, and lazy, but fucking perfect, and she moaned as I slid against her, up and down, slowly, and it felt fucking amazing. Her legs wrapped around my waist, moving against me, pulling me inside of her.

My breath left me in a deep huff as she dropped her head back and moaned. I kissed her jaw as I started a slow, lazy, deep rhythm. She started to meet each of my thrusts, and I could feel her tightening around me as her nails dug into my shoulders. I started moving faster, harder, getting close, and she whimpered and came close to drawing blood with her nails as my hand slid down her stomach and slipped between us.

We were both breathing heavily as I dropped down on top of her, and then rolled off of her a minute later because it was just too fucking hot.

"Mmm, that's much nicer than waking up to an alarm clock," she laughed, making me smile.

"Yes, well, you slept right through said alarm this morning," I teased, and she bolted into an upright position.

"What? What time is it?" She asked worriedly, and just sitting up looked like it made her extremely dizzy.

"Shh, it's okay, it's just a bit after five… I figured we could save some time if we shared the shower," I teased, and a small smile curled her mouth before she lay back down. "Baby? Are you okay?" I was starting to get really worried now.

"Yeah, sorry… that stuff just messes with my head. I'll be fine in a couple minutes though," she murmured.

And they really did mess with her head. We got up a few minutes later, and I kept an arm around her to prevent her from stumbling around. After a good half hour in the shower though, we were both awake, alert, and refreshed. It looked like it was turning out to be a beautiful day, and I ordered us some room service while Bella was getting ready, which we decided to take out to the balcony. We brought the couch cushions out, having a small picnic.

I could tell almost instantly that she was trying to say something, the way her eyes flickered to me constantly, the way her fists and jaw clenched. I set down my fork, watching her as I took a sip of my coffee and set it down, waiting her out. She worried her bottom lip for a moment, before taking a breath.

"How are you feeling?" She asked quietly. I raised an eyebrow at her, wanting her to be more specific because I knew she was _looking_ for something specific, and her words left her like a damn opening up. "I see you on set, and around the studio, and then there was always the drives, and I'd ask Mac and Mike but... it's not the same. Are you okay? How is the filming going? Are you eating okay? Is Jane still harassing you?"

I needed a minute to process, but tried to do it quickly because she looked so panicked. "I'm okay. It was... hard, trying to give you that type of space Bella. I won't lie to you, it really hurt, but at the same time I understood why you had to."

"I wish I'd told you, I wish I could take it back," she whispered, and I kissed her, hoping to prevent her from crying.

"I know," I told her, because I did. Then I grinned as I pulled back a little to look at her. When she opened her eyes and saw me watching her she looked at me in confusion. "I miss your cooking. I've been eating, the quality just pales in comparison to what I'm used to." She blushed, smiling, and I had to kiss her again. She tasted like strawberries and maple syrup. "And work is still on schedule, though it's getting exhausting. Jane's an annoyance. I just can't wait until this is done."

We needed to get away, to heal, to just be together without shit coming up around every damn corner. God, I couldn't wait.

As I brushed my hand back through her hair, just watching her, she still seemed uneasy.

"What else?"

She took in a shaking breath. "Are... are you, like-" Her eyes watered in her frustration, and her hand moved back through her hair nervously. "Does it bother you? That you're with... well, that they know what he did?"

Err... "What?"

"Does it bother you, that people know that you're with someone like me? They know that I was... with him, and that we're-"

"Bella, fuck, _no_," I said quickly, cutting her off once I realized what she was getting at, before she could get any further.

"I'm sorry." She closed her eyes tightly fighting back her tears.

"Baby, you know that wasn't your fault. I'm proud to be with you, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm the only man you've been with. What he did to you, that was different, and it doesn't make you any less of an amazing person."

I could tell that she didn't quite believe me, but she also knew I wasn't lying. She seemed more in disbelief. I smiled at her, spearing a slice of pineapple and holding it out to her. She gave me a tentative smile before biting it off of my fork. I let her eat some more of her breakfast before getting her to talk again.

I checked my watch, we only had fifteen minutes. I had to know though, otherwise I'd be thinking about it all day.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" She hummed around her juice.

"Yesterday... what changed? That kiss..." Something had changed for her to kiss me like that. She watched my face closely, and a little uneasily, but she answered.

"I watched you. All morning, your entire shoot. And... it was nothing like you did with me. You were a completely different person with her. And when you kissed her... you've never kissed me like that before. I saw your face, I saw how much you didn't want to do it."

"You really thought I could have shared that with her?" I asked, shocked, and a little hurt. Though I can see where her doubt would have come from.

"I don't know... I just know that I didn't want you to," she whispered. I kissed her once more.

"_Never_ baby, I've never been like this with anyone besides you."

She gave me a watery smile, and the calm that settled between us was intoxicating. We finished off our breakfast, packed our bags, and took Zeus to the park for a bit on our way to the set. I couldn't bring myself to let go of her for a second. I looked through my schedule and smiled brightly, seeing that I had the entire next two days off. Maybe she'd let me take her out for a day on the town, I'd just have to hire some security…

"What's got you smiling like that?" She asked in a teasing voice. I grinned.

"Two whole days off," I said cheerfully. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

She rolled her eyes. "You have two days off because _I'm_ filming for the next two days. We're shooting most of the rest of mine and Mike's scenes," she said gently.

I forced myself not to pout. "Oh, okay."

It was really fucking hard not to pout. Instead, I pulled her face to mine and kissed her until Zeus started barking at us. She looked up at me sadly, like she was reading my damn mind.

"After those two days though, I only have one more day of work at the end of the week, and then I'm all done," she said with a smile. That brightened my mood.

"What are you doing today?"

"Nothing," she said with a shrug. "Just thought I'd tag along to hang out with you." She chewed on her bottom lip nervously for a moment. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is, it always is," I assured her. We still needed to work on this, her irrational fear that I didn't want her around. All the time.

But we had the rest of our lives.

I grinned. "So, where do you want to get married?" I asked, wrapping an arm around her. She smiled, her eyes closing as I kissed her neck, tilting her head to the side slightly to give me better access.

"It doesn't matter to me," she breathed, and I kept one eye on the driver as my hand slipped under her shirt.

"Ideas? Preferences? Vetoes?"

"Mmm... no churches. I want to get married outside."

"Done." She laughed as my fingers went over a spot on her side, and I grinned before kissing her.

"What about you? What do you want to do?"

"Hmm, how about a beach?" I offered. Bella loved the beach, and despite living next to one we rarely got to go to it. And I loved Bella in a bikini, so it worked out well for everyone.

"I love it. What beach?"

I was still thinking about my answer as we moved out of the car to get into the hotel we were shooting in today. Bella didn't get too worked up by the press today, but I was also distracting her. I couldn't let go of her, and she couldn't seem to wipe the smile off of her face. I wanted something private, where the press wouldn't be able to hunt us down. But it needed to able to accommodate Zeus as well. I was mentally sorting through the list of resorts I'd been to when she came into my changing room with me, and smiled.

"Do you want a big ceremony?" I already knew the answer, but I still wanted to ask. She shook her head warily, and I smiled, pulling her against me.

"Me neither," I told her with a kiss. "I know the perfect place."

"Where?" She asked, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as she pulled my face down to hers and kissed me.

"Belize."

"Hmm, where's that?"

"South, below Mexico almost."

I gave a mental fist pump when I saw the excitement in her eyes, kissing her again before I forced myself to get changed.

. . . . .

I was honestly a little taken aback by how quickly things had changed, in a fucking amazing away.

Bella was smiling more, she seemed lighter.

She was acting like herself around other people now. I was pretty damn proud really. It had taken her a while, and I knew the thing with Jane had been a huge setback, but it was like once we started talking again, she just stopped giving a shit.

She wasn't hiding behind Bree any more, and having that burden off of her shoulders had a drastic result.

She seemed more comfortable in her own skin, and it made all the difference in her moods. She still had a ways to go, sometimes I'd catch her staring off into space with an uneasy, lost look in her eyes, and it let me know that she still had a long way to go against fighting the memories of her past. I wasn't worried any more though, not like I had been.

She was closer to the Bella that she had been when we had started dating. A little stand-offish, outspoken if someone pissed her off, confident, yet compassionate. The hardest parts for her now was shutting out the voices when we walked through the crowds of press. That, and her sleeping. On her second day of shooting, we'd been up late the night before, and I'd seen for myself how hard it was for her. Without those pills she could barely close her eyes, she was afraid to, and since she couldn't take them and risk hurting herself from the drowsiness on set, I'd tried to just hold her and comfort her into sleep. Both times that she'd managed to drift off she'd woken up only minutes later gasping and crying.

During her two days of shooting, whenever I wasn't mesmerized by watching her do her stunts and fights, I was on my lap-top and phone with my old travel agent. Billy was awesome, a discreet and dedicated worker, but I just hadn't had a use for him for so long now. He was thrilled getting back in touch with me, and within those two days I had the resort booked for two weeks, and our trip to Rome for three weeks after that planned. The resort didn't count as a honey moon in my opinion, since our family was going to be there.

I had to push it back another two weeks because of availability, but the wait would be worth it.

Our guest list wasn't long. Aside from the two of us, we had both of our siblings and their spouses, my parents, and Marcus and Didi. Rose would have her baby before then too. Ten and a half people and Zeus. We sent out our invitations from London in little packages we'd made together, each including the first-class plane tickets and passes for the resort along with sun tan lotion and two pairs of Maui Jims.

It was against Bella's nature to hand me the reins to plan the whole thing, but she let me. I got that she wasn't big on surprises, but I liked doing them and she just had to deal with that. She knew that I knew what I was doing, and besides, I don't think she really cared much about the ceremony, much like myself. We were both just eager to move ahead with our lives and try to move past all of the shit. We were keeping it simple, because neither of us wanted what our siblings had done. The resort that we were going to was a private island with six little private condos. It wasn't a big deal to rent the sixth one too if it meant that we'd have the place all to ourselves aside from the small staff. They did weddings, I'd seen one once, and they took care of _everything_. It was easy, and we were both excited for it.

And I couldn't wait to see her face when we landed in Italy. I knew she was going to love Rome.

She had a bounce in her step as we walked out of the hotel we'd been shooting in. She had the brightest smile on her face, and it was hard not to just stare as she bounced around in that little denim skirt and frilly blue tank-top she was wearing.

She could bounce all she wanted to though, she'd never hear me complain.

She was talking excitedly about the scenes I was doing this weekend, asking about where I'd learned to drive a boat when she saw in the schedule that I really was the one running it on the canal, and I told her about the small yacht my dad owned and had taken me on all the time as a child. My arm tightened around her as we stepped outside, pulling her past the shouting crowd. I wasn't even listening, I'd gotten good at blocking that shit out, but I knew she must have heard something when she froze in place, her entire body going rigid before she turned on the crowd and practically lunged at one of the reporters.

"What did you say?" She demanded, and I quickly wrapped an arm around her waist. The man was shaking as he answered her, a little frightened and obviously surprised that she had acknowledged him at all.

"I- do you have any comments about the statements from the Webbers?" He forced out, shoving his microphone in her face.

She stopped breathing, and was as tense as stone as she stared at him in disbelief. I tightened my hold on her more though, and practically dragged her back to our town car. I would have thrown her over my shoulder if it hadn't been for that short skirt.

She let me, and as soon as the door was shut and I wrapped an arm back around her, I saw her pull back into her mind, looking out the window but knowing she would see nothing. I let her have that silence, because I didn't want to get her worked up in the car when we'd still have to walk through the press to get into the hotel. I just held her, and then led her out once we arrived.

She walked immediately over to her laptop when we got in, and reached for it with trembling hands before stopping herself. She sat back on the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees.

I grabbed us each a bottle of water and sat down next to her. She leaned into my side, her hand fisting in my shirt as she continued to stare at the closed computer.

"Who are the Webbers?" I asked gently.

"Angela's parents," she said softly. I frowned.

"Do you have any idea what sort of statement they'd make?" She shut her eyes tightly, and it took her a couple minutes to find her words.

She couldn't though. "I... I don't know." She looked at the computer again, curious but frightened.

Room service brought up our dinner, and I waited until after she ate something and she'd taken her sleeping pills- I put an alarm on my phone so I wouldn't get carried away and distract her from taking them on time again- before I picked up her laptop, and sat down in a different chair.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked nervously. I plugged in her ear-buds, putting one of them in my ear.

"I'll watch it first," I told her. It wasn't a request.

"But-"

"No, this is going to drive you crazy until you know. I know that. But I'm not going to just let you do that without knowing what it's about. Just let me do this for you, okay?"

She was quiet for a moment, her eyes watering before she nodded.

We needed a fucking PR representative or something, but at the same time, neither one of us wanted one. I didn't care if the world thought we owed them, they were wrong. We didn't owe them shit. Fans were great and everything, and it wasn't like I wasn't grateful for everyone that watched my films, but that didn't give them any right to my personal life, or hers.

I'd been doing this for too long, and I knew how it played out. If we gave them an inch, they'd fight harder for the whole fucking mile. At the same time though, I think Bella was right in what she did. It would have gotten out eventually, and the longer we waited the bigger the fall out would have been.

Her hand had been forced though, and it was better coming from _her_ then it would have been coming from an anonymous source. I just wish I had been the one to be with her, to help her through it, that we would have had a chance to prepare for it, and most of all, that I could have been there to comfort her through it.

Jane had taken that from us. It could have been so much less traumatic for her if Jane hadn't been such a messed-up, malicious, greedy whore.

And we had talked about it together, and decided that we were just going to wait the press out. The chaos had gotten to a point where I believed even a full interview wouldn't create any relief. They'd just come up with more questions. They wanted her fucking biography, and that was never going to happen. I knew without asking that her writing project was just a part of her therapy, coming to terms. She had no intention of sharing it with anyone besides Sib and I. Eventually, they would give up, and though it would likely be a while before that happened it was the better of the two options.

It didn't take me long to find the video. I hated the internet. Wikipedia and shit was awesome, but the temptation was always there to see what bullshit people were making up about you.

Not going there. I Googled "Webber's statement on Bella Swan," and found the link to a YouTube video almost instantly. My interest was piqued immediately when it was also captioned "Reporter gets bitch-slapped by reverend's wife."

It was an older couple, in their late fifties. A priest with short black hair and a tired, clean-shaven face. He kept his arm around his wife, a tall woman with grey-peppered, dark brown hair, and swollen, red-rimmed eyes.

"You can just talk, introduce yourself if that makes you more comfortable," the reporter said gently. The woman nodded.

"My name is Angela Webber… my daughter of the same name was Victor's first… no, she was the first woman Victor Hunter killed," she said hoarsely.

"I'm sorry for your loss," the reporter said soothingly. "Is that why you're here today? To share your story?"

She shook her head. "No… I'm here because it's the only way I could think of to get Bella to listen to me, I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to come back to Washington again."

"So you knew Bella Swan?" He asked excitedly, and she nodded. "How?"

"She was my daughter's best friend from kindergarten, they grew up joined at the hip," she sniffled. "She was like a second daughter to me."

"So you knew her family? Her father and brother?"

The woman winced. "Yes," she croaked.

"And why is it that you can't talk to her yourself then? If she was 'like a second daughter to you,' as you said. Has her recent fame gone to her head?"

The woman slapped him across his face, making me jump slightly in surprise.

"No, you all are damn _monsters_ for hounding the poor girl after all she's been through!" She hissed angrily. "If Bella is anything like she was when I knew her, she only came forward because she had no choice. She's hated living in that man's shadow her entire like, and all you leeches are just torturing the poor girl. Do you have any idea what it was like for her? Thirteen years old, she was just a baby when he attacked her! She dropped out of school because she couldn't deal with the rumours. That monster ruined her life, and I'm glad he's dead. I hope he's burning in hell!" Her husband pulled her back down onto the couch, into his side, handing her a tissue and trying to calm her. It took him a little while. "But I'm no better than he is," she whimpered. I tensed.

"How so?" He asked warily, no doubt worried about being slapped again.

"Because I blamed her," she breathed, then looked up at the camera, crying. "Bella, sweetie, I'm so, so sorry. What I said to you was so, so wrong. I've regretted it every day, every hour for years. Please, if you ever watch this, please just know that I'm so sorry, and I didn't mean it."

"What did you tell her?" He asked eagerly, just waiting for the juicy part of the gossip.

"She… after that monster took my baby, I blamed her. She's the one who had to deal with the brunt of my anger. I told her it was her fault, that he took Angela, what he did to her. That it... well, I said a lot of horrible things. But I was wrong. I know that, and I'm so, so sorry."

I couldn't believe the words she was saying, I was disgusted.

And she couldn't even admit aloud what she had said, the worst of it. That was obvious to me.

"Then why did you say it? Is this some attempt at redemption?" Even her interviewer sounded disgusted, and she knew that.

"No, I just… I just needed her to know that it wasn't her fault. It was never her fault. I was grieving, and I was angry, and I took it out on her because she was all I had. I didn't mean it though Bella. Wherever you are, I just need you to know that. I need you to know that what I told you was wrong, and I know that. It wasn't your fault, I love you, I miss you, and I'm so, so sorry."

I rubbed my hands over my eyes, needing a moment to compose myself. I was fucking furious. I didn't know these people, but I wanted to fucking find them. How could they blame her for something like that? She was just a fucking child, a victim, and they put the blame on her because she was easier to find than the actual culprit.

It explained a lot, really. They were just as bad as he was, this was why she blamed herself. I could see it now. Not only had Victor taken advantage of her guilt to make her believe it was her fault, but all of these adults had gone after her too, blaming a broken little girl instead of the man whose fault it really was. And if that woman really was like a mother to her...

No wonder she loved my mom so hard, it was about time she had one. A good one. And my mom loved the hell out of her. She fucking adored her.

They may have lost a child, but she lost her best friend, her only friend, before then losing her father and being ripped away from her entire life. She lost everything, and because of assholes like the Webbers that she learned to blame herself. No wonder it was always so hard for her to let people in.

It also gave me the tiniest flicker of hope though, that maybe hearing that woman admit that she had been wrong might make Bella reconsider the guilt that she carried around with her.

I nodded Bella over, and she got up and joined me. I pulled her into my lap, and settled the laptop on her lap before taking out the headphones. I didn't ask her if she was ready, because she never would be. I just wrapped a comforting arm around her waist and hit play.

She held onto my hands tightly as she watched, but she could have crushed my bones and I still wouldn't have let go. She winced when the woman slapped the reporter, and when the video ended, she was still as a statue. It automatically started to load another video, and I let go of one of her hands to shut the browser, then closed the laptop before setting it down.

I shifted her in my lap, and tucked her hair behind her ear as I watched her. She wasn't crying, she just had a deep look of concentration on her face, her brow slightly furrowed.

She didn't say anything.

God, sometimes I'd give anything to be able to see into her mind. I was flying in the dark most of the time, dealing with her. All I knew how to do was love her. I wrapped my arms back around her, pulling her against me gently, before adjusting myself, throwing one leg over the arm of the chair and leaning back. This fluffy cushioning made this chair feel like I was sitting in some sort of pillow bowl. Weird, but fucking comfortable.

We were buying one of these chairs.

She just curled up against me, and I let her think, process, because I knew she had a lot of that to do. It was a good thing, I thought. Only good could come out of it if that statement was making her reconsider her view point. I'd expect her to deal with some anger, because I know that I sure as hell was. That's what I thought about as I sat there and held her, absently tracing up and down her spine. I was angry at them, and I'd had the knowledge of what they had done given to me and corrected at the same time. She'd lived with it and let it fester for years. Holding her kept me calm, but let my mind spin. When Bella eventually passed out, and I transferred her over to the bed, I brought my laptop to bed as well, and booted it up after stripping down to my boxers. I turned on the bedside lamp, knowing my fiancé could sleep through an earthquake for the next few hours, and entered the World Wide Web.

I knew it could be a bad idea, but I had to know what was going on, what else they could potentially blind-side my fiancé with. What they'd figured out.

It wasn't hard, a Wikipedia page had been made for her. All sorts of things had been compiled about her; interviews and statements from people she'd grown up with, gone to school with, that had known her throughout her aliases, and people she had worked with over the years. They had her full name, both of her parents' names and her brother, and his wife. Where'd she'd grown up, her school, when she'd gotten her GED. Places she'd lived under some of her names, places that she'd been rumoured to work. Charity organizations she sponsored.

I followed every single link, to every interview I could find. They'd ranged from teachers to old friends, people who'd been at the club to people she'd taught classes to. After she'd left Forks though, the information they'd put together… it was rare that there were any statements of substance from people who had actually known her.

Employees from the club… no comment.

The driving service she used… employees refused to comment.

Questions about Rose and Emmett's businesses? Both of them refused to comment, though there was a quote from Emmett repeated in a few places, threatening to break faces, and warning people to fuck off and leave his sister alone.

Women who'd taken her self-defence classes? The only comments were people refusing to comment, and a few people saying she was a strong, supportive, and encouraging woman who deserved her privacy, since she was so good at respecting and upholding the privacy of others.

There was an interview with Garrett, who I recognized as one of Emmett's groom's men, who went off about how Emmett had told him that she actually lived in Chicago, was some sort of 'consultant' and investor, and said that he was suspicious that she was involved in some sort of mafia or something. Said she was always overly private, curt, and snobby.

I was pretty sure she must have shot him down or something.

There were statements from a few women who claimed to be friends of Rose's, people who'd been to the wedding, who commented about Bella's musical and dancing talents, but that she was fairly anti-social.

I was surprised to find out that my mother had given a short comment, when she was asked about Bella's involvement in one of her charities for abused women. All she said though is that for a few years, Bree Tanner had been known as a generous donor to her cause, also supporting them with the free self-defence courses she had given to some of the women from support groups she helped fund. She didn't comment on their personal relationship though.

A few statements from people at the New York Historical Society, but they didn't have much to say besides the larger pieces she had acquired for them, and saying that she was a hard worker yet kept to herself. Jasper was the only employee she had been close with… Yup, both Jasper and my sister refused to comment.

No officers would or could deny or confirm her role in Victor's death.

There really wasn't much, only speculations. I knew that some of the speculations were true, but… it seemed that the majority of people that Bella had known over the years respected her too much to talk to anyone about her. The only ones who had, hadn't been close to her.

That was… really awesome.

But it got better.

I had to start saving links to show her later.

James Hetfield… "Oh yeah, I've met Bella. Call her Angel though, you know those smokin' hot tatts? Yeah, we go to the same guy. Sweet girl, tuff as nails, and god, those fucking tattoos… I heard she's plays the violin you know? If that Cullen kid ever fucks up, I'm gonna take that girl on tour with me, you let her know that!"

There was Rory… "Oh, my Angel. She's got a mouth on her but she's a sweet little thing. Don't you go telling her I said that though! Touchy, woman doesn't know how to take a compliment, and I like my balls right where they are. That boy of hers though? Oh. My. God. Talk about yummy. How about we talk about him? You know he carried me once…"

The manager of Alice's last apartment building... "She's a little intimidating, but I think it's because she just worries about people. I only met her once, and she was worried about the security of my building. You know, she just came in and rung for me and gave me this big box of monitors and cameras, for free! Instructions and everything! She didn't want a dime, just told me to pay her by usin' them. Instructions, a card for a contractor and everything."

And then, there were the families of the other victims… It was reported that the man who had shot her father had died in prison, just a few weeks ago, and the other families… they talked about her generosity. The letters she had sent. They in no way blamed her for the women's deaths, only being grateful for her generous financial help that had helped them get through the dark times, her apologies, her kind and loving words. Then there were some other women who she'd helped, talking about her 'kick-ass superhero moves' when she'd helped them with 'disrespectful' men.

I had told Bella to stay away from the internet… but I don't think I was completely right in that. I knew from looking at some of the articles written about her that I wouldn't take it back, but I needed to show her some of the good as well.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Do you think Mrs. Webber's apology might be enough to get Bella to reconsider? Was it good or bad that she saw it? Do you think Bella should forgive her for it?**

**Have you ever Googled yourself? Ever find anything interesting doing it? I got nothing, but I'm a pretty boring person with a not very popular full name. Please some love!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Thank you so much for your reviews, they mean the world to me. I kind of got carried away with this chapter, just a heads-up.**

**Song – Lonely Boy by The Black Keys**

. . . . . . . . . .

I drifted off, only getting a few hours of sleep, but waking up in the best fucking way.

With my cock in Bella's mouth.

And then her riding it.

And afterwards her dragging me into the shower with her.

I was a little dizzy and dehydrated by the time she let me get dressed, not that I was complaining.

Not. At. All.

I did realize that she wasn't giving me a chance to talk to her though. She ordered breakfast while I was getting dressed, and by the time she had slipped into a little blue sun dress our food was there, and we brought it out to the sunny balcony, throwing down two of the couch cushions outside.

I gave her a minute to take a few bites before I spoke.

"How you feeling today baby?"

"Good. Energetic." The way she smiled at me… Jesus. I shook my head. Nope, not getting distracted.

"And about the video?"

Her jaw clenched as she stilled for a moment, then stuffed a big fork-full of pancake into her mouth.

"I don't want to think of it right now," she said a little sharply, but I knew her anger wasn't meant for me. I also knew she would be angry. I didn't want to push her yet though.

"So what are you doing today? Any work?"

"No, not till that last scene tomorrow. You're going to be busy though, filming in that hotel all morning," she teased.

I groaned, it was so nice outside. I didn't want to stay inside all day.

And I didn't want Bella to be stuck there either. She seemed in a bright mood, but I would rather that she took some time to rest. Yesterday had been exhausting for her.

"You know, if you'd rather take the day off you don't have to stick with me inside today," I pointed out. "If you wanted to stay in or go out or something." She knew she couldn't go out unaccompanied, but we had security that could take her any time. I wouldn't treat her like a child and remind her though, I trusted that she was smart enough. She watched me for a long moment, her eyes slowly travelling over me, and she hummed.

"Yeah, I think I will," she said in a contemplative tone. "You should be done around three today, call me if you guys run late?"

"Definitely," I assured her, popping a strawberry in my mouth.

. . . . . . . . . . .

I think it was weird that I could concentrate better with Bella there. Jane wasn't a problem anymore though, she seemed to be living under a constant state of paranoia. Maybe she was trying for good behaviour, and though it was nice, I'm pretty sure it was useless. Bella didn't make idle threats, and she rarely changed her mind about something. I really doubted she'd do anything while we were still filming though. The day went pretty good despite missing her company, but we needed some time apart every once in a while and we'd been practically glued by the hip for the last week.

Still, I missed her, and spent a good portion of the day daydreaming about my morning.

"Hey, Cullen?"

"What's up Newton?" I asked warily. Didn't care for him, or the way he was always ogling my fiancé. He wasn't too bad though, I just knew we'd never consider each other friends.

"Did Bella not come in with you today? I haven't been able to find her, and I needed to ask her about a move for the scene tomorrow-"

"No, she stayed back at the hotel today," I interrupted, eager to leave.

"Shit… Could I get her number or something?"

"Sorry man, but I'm not giving you my girl's number. She keeps it private for a reason."

I wasn't really taunting him, only telling him the truth. Marcus and I were the only people on set who had her phone number. He looked genuinely stressed out though, rubbing his hands over his face, and I sighed.

"Want to share a car back to the hotel? You can just come up and ask her."

"Oh, fuck, thank you," he said in relief, giving me a big smile. We walked outside to the car together, and the crowd made even him uncomfortable. "Man, this shit is crazy," he noted as he slipped into the car with me. "How do you guys deal with all this? Can you even go outside?"

"Not really," I said with a shrug. "Nothing that we can really do about it."

"Why don't you just, you know… give them what they want?"

"Because what they want is her fucking life story, and I won't let them put her through that. We don't owe them anything. Eventually they'll realize that we're not giving them any more and they'll get tired."

He nodded in understanding, and then to prevent the awkward silence that almost took over, I asked him what he needed to talk to Bella about. He went into detail about the scene they were doing tomorrow, and how he was worried that the wideness of the hallway was going to make it too difficult to get her into some air duct.

I actually enjoyed his company; he was a fairly calm, laid back guy. Just didn't like how he was around my girl.

We went up to my floor, and I smiled brightly at the Black Keys she had playing loudly in the suite. She didn't even hear us come in.

And I should have fucking called before brining Mike over.

He walked over with me to the kitchen, where the music was coming from, and we both froze when Bella looked up at us.

She was facing us, using the little island in the centre of the kitchenette, wearing her black frilly apron with the pearl neck strap.

And that looked like it was all she was wearing. It just barely covered her chest, all I could see was the sides of her breasts. Her hair was piled up on top of her head, and she was frosting a chocolate cake.

It smelled fucking awesome, but I was distracted.

She didn't even jump to cover herself when she saw our company, didn't look embarrassed at all. She just sighed, and licked a bit of chocolate icing off of her finger while she watched me.

"I didn't know you'd be bringing… company."

"I, err-"

She sighed dramatically, shooting me a teasing smirk. "Well, I guess I'll get changed then," she walked around the island, leaning up to kiss my cheek before she walked past the two of us.

I was wrong, she had been wearing something underneath. These little black silk panties with white lace trim.

Then I remembered Mike, and glared at him.

"Watch where you're putting your eyes," I warned, then told him I'd be back in a minute before dashing over to Bella, closing the bedroom door behind me. She was bent over her suitcase, and I was hard in a fucking second as I looked at her. She turned her head and straightened up when she heard me though. I stalked forward, until I was so close that she had to tilt her head back to look up at me, but I didn't touch her.

"What's this?" I asked, just nodding in her general direction. She smiled.

"I wanted to surprise you when you got back," she said sweetly.

"Surprise me?"

She hummed, moving in and sliding her hands up my chest. "I baked you a chocolate cake."

Fuck. "It smells delicious. What's the occasion?" I wrapped my arms around her, and she shivered as my fingertips trailed up her back, then back down to the little bow that was tied just above her ass.

"No occasion, I just love you," she said, still smiling sweetly, until she pulled my face down and whispered in my ear. "That, and I wanted to lick chocolate cake off of you cock." I choked on my breath in something close to a growl, and she palmed me through my pants. "And I really wanted you to fuck me on the kitchen counter."

Jesus. I yanked her apron off of her, then pulled her around and pushed her back onto the bed before climbing on top of her and kissing her breath away.

She stopped my hands just before I could yank off her panties though.

"Edward, wait, stop," she panted, laughing a little, and my face dropped to her chest with a groan before I pouted up at her.

"Why?"

"Because you made the mistake of bringing a guest over, and then you left him in the living room. Unless you wanted to give him the audio to the show…"

I tensed, as she knew I would, and I rolled off of her with a moan.

"Why is he here?" She asked, slipping on a little white and grey dress. Something that would be very easy for me to yank off of her. Still preferred the apron though.

Fucking Newton.

"Uhm…" Shit, I was drawing a blank for a moment and it took me a minute to answer. "Something about a wide hallway and an air duct? I'm not sure."

She sighed. "Man's paranoid he's going to drop me. It ridiculous, he could _throw_ me into the damn duct if he felt like it," she mumbled irritably as she walked out of the room.

I followed, because I needed to keep an eye on him. I didn't like that he saw what he saw, or the fact that he was eyeing her like she _was_ the chocolate cake.

That cake was all mine. Both of them.

I grabbed Bella's e-reader, browsing through to find the book I'd been reading, and dropped into one of the chairs as she went over what they were doing tomorrow morning, assuring him that it would work fine, and going over the compromises she'd discussed with Marcus if it looked off. It turns out he had had the locations mixed up, and it made much more sense to him.

I walked him out when they finished, trying to control my body's reaction when Bella smirked at me and sauntered into the bedroom.

My smile may have been a little smug as I let him out.

"You're a lucky fucking bastard," he whispered, shooting me a slightly jealous grin. My smile grew.

"You have no idea," I laughed. "Later Newton."

He left with a wave, strutting over to the elevators, and I put the sign on the door before following the music back over to the kitchen.

She was in her apron again.

Excellent.

"How was your day?" She asked with a wicked smirk, carefully transferring a slice to a plate and then slowly licked a bit of chocolate off of her finger again.

That's all it took, and my jeans became painfully uncomfortable.

"Boring," I said, my voice coming out tight. I grinned though; as horny as I was, I was getting hungry looking at that damn cake. Bella's chocolate cake was better than my mom's, which was saying something. She knew it was my favourite. I nodded to the plate. "Is that for me?"

She smiled, shaking her head no, and set the plate down next to me on the counter I was leaning back against. "No, but you can have a taste, if you want." She dragged her finger through the icing and crumbling chocolate, and held it up for me. I grinned, my hand wrapping around her wrist as I brought her hand to my mouth, and wrapped my lips around her finger.

I moaned. God, that was fucking amazing.

She extracted her hand from my grasp, and took a step back from me before giving me a slow once-over.

"Take off your shirt," she ordered.

Damn, it was hot when she got all bossy. I pulled my shirt off, tossing it on the floor, and leaned back with my hands on the counter on either side of me with a smirk as I waited to see what she'd do next.

"Pants."

I undid my belt and fly, kicking off my jeans. She smirked.

"Keep going."

I complied, and leaned back again confidently, letting her take a nice long look. The way she licked her bottom lip when her eyes swept over me should have been illegal.

And that apron was killing me.

She sort of hummed, and stepped up to me, making me shiver as she lightly dragged the tips of her nails from my throat, down my stomach, and down my thigh.

"Stay just like that," she whispered, barely audible over Lonely Boy when the album started over again.

I couldn't help closing my eyes, letting out a deep breath almost in relief as she put her hands on me. Just on my chest, moving slowly down my stomach and back up again, out over my shoulders, and then the length of her body leaned against mine as she kissed me just below my ear.

And she was right there.

And she wasn't wearing those black panties any more. She was just hot and wet and soft against me as she worked her way slowly down my neck and collar bone. Down my chest, and then I hissed when her tongue traced around my nipple, and she bit me.

I looked down at her as she leaned away, praying to god that she hadn't taken that the wrong way and was going to stop, but she was smiling up at me mischievously.

I hadn't noticed her reach for the cake, and she slid two chocolate-covered fingers from my nipple all the way down to my stomach.

I expected her to work her way down.

She didn't.

She sunk back on her heels, and I sucked in a sharp breath as she dragged her tongue up my stomach, and started licking the chocolate off of my body. She was fucking killing me, being very diligent in making sure not to touch my cock, and it was throbbing to the point of pain. Looking at her doing it was just making it worse too, so I once again missed her reaching for the cake, and just cursed when I felt her hand wrap around me.

My eyes shot open, and I saw her grinning up at me as she placed a few kisses down my stomach, and sat back on the balls of her feet and ran her tongue up the underside of my shaft. She had me panting and cursing as she moaned and licked every crumb off of me while she pumped me with one of her small hands, bracing herself with one hand on my thigh.

Yeah, it didn't take me very long. She had worked me up to the brink of torture.

She was still cleaning me up after I came, with slow, soft licks and kisses, and I was almost ready to go again, groaning as she hummed around me and let go of me. I took her hand to pull her back up, and she was grinning at me.

I have no idea what my face looked like. In shock, at least.

"That was delicious," she purred.

"Jesus Christ." She smiled brightly, took another bite of the slice of cake, then stepped to the side to wash her hands.

If she thought she was getting away after that, she was crazy. I let her wash and dry her hands though, taking a second to move her cake and spatula off of the small island, but then yanked her back into my arms by the taunting little bow above her beautiful ass. She squeaked in surprise, but I muffled the sound with my lips as I kissed her hungrily.

She tasted like the best chocolate cake I'd ever had.

I untied the bow before breaking away for half a second to pull her apron over her head.

"You need to dress like this more often," I teased, and her lips curled into a smile against mine. She shivered as my hands went down her back, all the way from her shoulders to the backs of her thighs, and gasped in surprise when I quickly lifted her up. I sat her down on the island, and kissed my way down her jaw.

Then I stopped.

Because I really, _really_ wanted some of that chocolate cake too. I grabbed her half eaten slice, and sat it down next to her before giving her a long, slow once-over. I saw her swallow thickly, almost looking nervous and making me smile.

I stepped between her legs again, making her open up for me as I pulled her to the edge of the counter. I gently pushed her to lean back on her elbows, and the view was… Jesus. There were no words.

I was marrying this woman.

I took a bite of the cake, then traced designs down her body with chocolate frosting. Bella's face was as red as a tomato, her flush spreading all the way down to the tops of her breasts, but she was enjoying it too much to stop me. I took my time licking every crumb off of her, devouring her from her neck to her hips. She whimpered as I dragged my teeth over that spot on her hip bone that drove her crazy, and parted her with my fingers. She was so fucking wet, and I couldn't help but just skipping over to my favourite part, making her cry out and fall back against the counter when her arms gave out. I licked up every drop before sliding my fingers inside of her, making her back arch off the counter top.

She wasn't given any quick relief though, not after what she'd done to me. I brought her right up to the edge, and then slowed down, and then did it again. And again. I did it until she was begging me, nearly incoherent with her plea, and she clamped down on me as she came with a cry when I thrust into her, rubbing at her clit with my thumb. I rocked against her slowly, letting her come down a little bit before I sped up with deep, even thrusts.

"This is what you wanted, right baby? " I teased, sliding a hand up her stomach and cupping her breast. "For me to fuck you on the counter? God, you look so fucking hot on this counter."

"Mmm, no, this is good but I wanted you to bend me over it," she attempted to choke out in a calm voice. It didn't work, though her words still turned me on. I loved her voice when she was gone like this.

"Oh, that just won't do then," I said in a low voice, pulling out and pulling her up. She swayed, and I held her for a moment, giving her a hungry kiss, and squeezing her ass before I turned her around. I bent her over with a gentle hand between her shoulders, then nudged her legs apart with my knee and guided myself back inside of her with my hand. She moaned, her nails scratching along the granite, and I traced down the feathers of her wings with one hand as I fucked her.

Still an awesome view.

. . .

After a long shower, because we were both really damn sticky after dessert, we ordered room service for dinner, and had a picnic out on our balcony at sunset. It was a gorgeous view, and we just preferred to be outside if given the option.

"You know, I'm starting to feel spoiled. I could really get used to this whole room service thing," she said with a smile, spearing another baby carrot.

"You know, we could get a house keeper if you want. I love when you cook, but I don't want you to feel like you need to," I said uneasily. She laughed.

"Oh, Edward, I'm very much aware that if you wanted a little Stepford wife you wouldn't have asked me to marry you," she teased. "I cook for you because I like to. I like seeing you eat _my_ food, and I wouldn't want someone coming into our home and fucking with my kitchen. The cleaning lady weirds me out enough as it is. I'm just saying this isn't so bad either," she said, and took another bite of her chicken. I laughed.

"So what did you do today, besides baking?" I asked with a smirk. She grinned.

"I swiped a wig from make-up the other day, and went out to the park with Zeus and a couple of the security guys, then picked up a few things from the grocery store. Used the gym downstairs for a bit, did a bit of writing too."

I nodded, and hesitated uneasily on asking the question I really wanted to ask her. She caught me watching her, and raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"Have you thought much about that video we watched yesterday?"

She tensed, her hand gripping tightly onto her fork before she set it down uneasily. "I guess so."

… That didn't me much to go off of.

"How do you feel about it?"

She sighed. "I don't know, angry?" I set down my fork, patiently waiting her out. Because if I didn't push her to talk about herself like this, she wouldn't. She'll just hold it in until she snaps. She huffed irritably. "Yes, I'm pissed off. I'm really, really pissed off. She had almost an entire year after it happened, before I left, that she could have said that. I don't think it's fair that she made me carry that all these years, and… fuck. I don't care if she feels bad, if she feels guilty. I don't care how horrible it sounds, but I _want_ her to feel guilty. She should. I've had to carry her words with me for over five years, and I hated myself for them. I don't care how sorry she is, I don't forgive her."

Her eyes were watering, but she didn't shed any tears. She was tense, and she just looked extremely pissed off.

But this anger was better for her than her self-loathing.

She had every right to be angry. And despite her words… I knew that she would forgive that woman. I could see the desire to in her eyes, but it was much, much too soon.

"Do you believe her though?"

"Believe what?"

"When she told you it wasn't your fault."

Her tears did fall then, as she looked at her hands in her lap. I scooted over closer to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"It's hard," she whispered. "Five years, I've been repeating her words in my head for so long… it's almost surreal, having her take them away."

"She was right though baby, none of this was your fault."

She sniffled.

"All those other girls though..."

I rubbed my hand up and down her back, and kissed her temple. "Can I show you something?" I asked quietly, and she nodded. I got up, and then pulled her up to her feet and led her inside. I grabbed my laptop, then pulled her down with me onto the couch. I opened up the page of links I'd saved, and then set the computer in her lap.

"What are these?" She asked warily.

"I ended up Googling you after you fell asleep last night… I was curious what they'd found on you so far, and I thought you might like to see these."

I piqued her interest, and she curiously went and clicked the first link. It was the worst of the bunch, the man that had killed her father, found dead in his cell. Still, it was one less person that blamed her.

The next were statements from the other families, and she had tears streaming down her cheeks as she read through their kinds words of thanks.

And that not a single one of them blamed her.

Then she was smiling through her tears as she read the few statements that people that had known her had given. And all of the people who refused comments.

"Bella… I can understand why you would blame yourself for so much of it, considering the circumstances you were under. I really do. You have every right to be angry, it wasn't fair for those people to blame you like they did. It was wrong of them. You were young, and hurt, and they took advantage of you to make themselves feel better. It wasn't true though. The lives you've touched… these people wouldn't have said these things, or refused to say anything, if they didn't care about you. You're a good person who had to go through a lot of shit, but none of it was your fault. So many other people see it, and I'm afraid to push you too much on this, but all I want is for you to be able to see it too."

She was quiet for a long time, and though she was still facing the screen, I didn't think she was actually looking at it. She'd pulled back into her mind again, and I let her. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke.

"Thank you, for showing me this."

I gave her a small smile, and then kissed her cheek.

"You should take your sleeping pills, if you want to be up in time tomorrow," I said gently. She nodded and got up, and then ran over to the balcony, yelling at Zeus who had finished our dinners for us, making me laugh loudly.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Thanks for reading! What's your favourite type of cake?**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hello again! I do not own the Twilight Characters!**

**Song: Angie – The Rolling Stones**

. . . . . . . . . .

She believed it.

She didn't have to say it aloud, I could just see it. The difference in one week was staggering, really.

She was either smiling, or she was pissed off. Most of the time though, she was just smiling. She fucking glowed. She laughed more, and there was just this… lightness, a sparkle in her eyes. It made it even harder than usual not to just stare at her.

The reporters didn't bother her at all anymore, didn't faze her. She'd taunt them with a wave every now and then, but didn't go so far as to talk to them. She had no desire to share our personal life with them, but without that guilt, they didn't get to her like they once had.

And even her bad moods, when her anger and frustration got to be too much for her… I would never admit it aloud, because I knew it was a little fucked up, but I liked them.

Bella liked to use physical outlets to deal with her frustrations.

Most of the time that meant pulling me into deserted rooms, locking us in our hotel room or my changing room. I really liked just going to the gym with her too, I'd never dated someone that could keep pace with me on foot, let alone pass or push me. When we'd come to LA, I'd been fairly faster than her, what with my extra training and her lack thereof for a prolonged period. But now… well, I now knew what she'd been doing in her spare time over the past few months. We were pretty evenly matched when it came to cardio, which is nice since she couldn't spot me.

We both missed home though. The park, our gym. Being able to get out of our home without there being a mob outside. And we had a gorgeous house, and yard in LA… but it was the apartment I thought of when I thought of the word 'home.' It was cozier than that big house that we barely used half of.

Now that Bella was done… I did not like the idea of her being in that big house alone all day. I knew what my schedule was going to be like when we got back.

But this was so close to over.

. . . . .

"Edward," she whispered, kissing my neck.

"Hmm?" I rolled towards her, not opening my eyes as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me.

"Baby, wake up," another kiss, this one on my jaw.

"I am awake," I half mumbled, half croaked. She laughed.

"Come for a run with me? Please?"

Even mostly asleep I could hear her hopeful excitement. I didn't even need to look at her. I yawned.

"Mm'kay. Just give me a few minutes," I mumbled, grinning when she gave me an exited kiss, wiggled out of my hold, and ran away. I sighed, forced myself to sit up, and then to pry open my eyes before using the washroom then getting dressed. I walked out to find Bella in a pair of tight black shorts, and a dark blue- cut-off tee, stretching.

I doubted her beauty would ever cease to stun me. I walked over, and pulled her in for a real kiss before grinning at her.

"Good morning." She smiled, but there was a little mischievous glint in her eyes that I didn't trust in the slightest. "What?" I asked suspiciously.

"I wanted to try something this morning." Damn, that smile was trouble. "Want to have some fun with the press?"

That did sound like fun, I loved messing with them. And I loved just seeing her so damn happy, her energy was contagious.

"Sure," I said easily, because really, I'd give her anything in the world she asked for. Most things that Bella wanted didn't even cost anything though. "What do we need?"

"Water, our key card, and one of our phones just in case."

We took Bella's phone, because it was smaller, and she just stuck it in her bra, which made me laugh. As soon as we were ready, she called our car and the three of us took the elevator out, and ignored them as usual as we walked out.

"Were to?"

"Umm… one block up should do it," she said, and I laughed. It was obvious that he was a little confused, but did as she instructed anyways. This was awesome, because we had both wanted to be able to walk around the area, just look around like normal tourists would. This was the first time Bella had ever travelled out of America and she'd only been able to go to the park, and to her work locations. And I think a grocery store.

While we still couldn't do that, play tourist on foot, this was a nice substitute. I did know the area a little, and gave him the name of a little park that I knew of, knowing we wouldn't be able to just walk up to and into the hotel when we got back.

He pulled over, and I got the door for Zeus and Bella. The car pulled away, and we barely had to wait a minute before they noticed. Someone shouted, then they were all shouting as they started to surge towards us. Fucking lemmings. We gave them a minute, Zeus doing his business, and then we took off.

I don't think it had been three miles, but that had been a fucking fun run. We lost the majority of them within the first mile, but there had been a few runners in the crowd. I think after a while too, they stuck with us just for fun, enjoying the run in the cool, early-morning air. By the time we got to our finishing point, we had three guys with us, and we all stopped by the fountain with them while they got a drink. Bella gave her water to Zeus, and I split mine with her while we talked to them for a couple minutes. They thanked us for an awesome morning workout, and we gave them a quote, saying that we were enjoying our work in London, though we were very busy. Filming was going well. We let them take a couple pictures with us, and Zeus let them pet him happily, before hopping into the car again to go get ready for work.

. . . . .

I woke up before her, having set my own alarm and having turned hers off.

She thought I was working today, but I'd gotten Marcus to lie with my schedule just to make it looked like I was. But I wasn't. She probably thought I'd forgotten, but I hadn't.

She took her sleeping pills late last night, I may have purposely distracted her, so I knew I had a few hours. I called down to the front desk, telling them they could bring my order up, and they came in with cart after cart of flowers.

I may have bought out the store.

I had them leave the carts in the foyer, and was running back and forth to the bedroom, covering every surface there was in vase after vase of flowers. When I ran out of room, I filled the tables in the living room, and then the balcony.

It looked pretty fucking cool.

Yes, I felt proud of myself.

When I finished, I crawled back into bed with one white rose, and hovered over her.

Fuck, she was especially pretty like this. Her hair all tousled from her sleep, a small, sleepy half-smile on her face, pink cheeks.

The fact that she was naked worked in her favour too.

I trailed the rose from her temple, down her throat, collar bone, in between her breasts, leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake. She hummed as I gently kissed her lips, making me smile before I kissed her jaw, then just below her ear.

"_Happy birthday to you_," I sang quietly, just into her ear, grinning when a smile curled her lips. "_Happy birthday to you…"_She squeaked as my fingertips trailed down her stomach, tickling her a little. "_Happy birthday dear Beellaaaa~"_She started giggling, and I kissed her lips again, trailing the rose down her jaw. _"Happy birthday to you."_

"Mmm, you should sing more often," she mumbled, still grinning, but having trouble opening her eyes.

That was okay.

I started kissing my way down her throat, her chest, and traced my tongue around a nipple, making her sigh.

"How old are you today baby?" I asked, kissing my way down her stomach, already knowing the answer of course.

"Twenty-two," she whispered.

"Hmm, twenty-two." I was up for a challenge. "Remember that number."

I nudged her legs apart as I slid down the bed, and hiked one of her legs over my shoulder. A choked sound escaped her as I parted her with my fingers, and slowly dragged the flat of my tongue up her center. I took my time working her up, and she came on my fingers with a silent cry.

And then a second time on my cock.

She gushed, and cried a little bit, over all the flowers. She asked what types they were, but I had no fucking clue. They were just flowers to me.

Number three took place in the shower, then four on the balcony as we had breakfast outside and watched the sunrise. She was a trembling mess, and I needed a nap.

I wasn't getting old or anything, I'd just been up early. She'd been happy to take a nap with me though, and was ecstatic and surprised that I had the day off. As if I'd work on her fucking birthday.

We woke up again at eleven to her phone going off, and she answered it with a groan.

"Hello?" She mumbled, then shot upright, juggling a screaming phone in her hands before it fell to the floor.

I just stared with a smile as she got up, and bent over to pick it up off of the floor.

"Jesus Alice, it's my birthday, you're not supposed to yell at me," she whined, crawling back into bed and curling into my side. I wrapped and arm around her, kissing her temple. "Why are you freaking out? I can just wear a bikini or something, it's on the bea-" She pulled the phone away from her ear again as Alice's angry, high-pitched voice started yelling. "Jesus. Here, she's your sister, you deal with her," she mumbled, shoving the phone into my hand and burrowing into my side.

"Hey little sister, is there a reason you're reaming out my fiancé on her birthday?"

"YOU! This is your fault too, how am I supposed to make a dress in _six weeks?!_ You guys are killing me!"

"No one said you had to make a dress Alice, I'm sure-"

"If you even say the words married and bathing suit in the same sentence, I'm calling mom."

"Jesus, calm down," I said, waking up a bit more. I tried a different tactic. "You're the most talented designer I know Alice, we're sorry for giving you such a short deadline, but I'm sure you can come up with something." Bella was trying to stifle her giggle against my side, and started squealing with laughter as I started tickling her. "You're the one who's wearing a dress, why am I doing this?" I complained in a whisper, holding the phone away as Alice gushed at my praise and started talking to me about suit colours and types of materials that meant shit-all to me.

"Because you love me, and she was yelling at me," she said with an adorable pout. I rolled my eyes, but we were both grinning as I kissed her.

"Edward? Have you listened to a work I've said?" Alice inquired irritably.

"Honestly, no. I love you like crazy, but you're interrupting."

"Eww, God, didn't need to know. Put Bella back on."

"Only if you keep the volume to a minimum," I negotiated.

"Fine."

I grinned as Bella eyed the phone warily, but took it. "Hey." She looked at me, and rolled her eyes as Alice started talking away. I tried to distract her, and grabbed her wrist before she could smack me in the back of the head. She tried to squirm away from me, but I wasn't having it. I had both of her wrists trapped in one of my hands, and she hurried through her conversation with Alice with my face buried in between her thighs.

That was five, and six was in the shower again before we got dressed. I told her to dress for a night out, and she didn't disappoint, coming out in an oyster-grey silk cocktail dress that clung to her in a way that should have been illegal, her hair straight and smooth as water, and these little black strappy shoes. She was a little put off that I wouldn't tell her where we were going though.

We were leaving in a few days, and it bothered me that I hadn't gotten to show her the sights here. I didn't feel safe with the press yet, though I think they may have been settling down a little. I had hired a limo and a security escort for the rest of the day, and he picked us up just after two. Our driver was enthusiastic to help us and gave us a personal tour of the city while we drank champagne, drove around, and enjoyed the sights.

We stopped twice before the restaurant, the first time being when I saw Bella's interest perk when we passed a little red-painted shop. It was a violin shop, Guivier's, so of course I got the driver to go back around. She smiled excitedly as I got out and took her hand, and we ducked into the store before anyone could notice us, though we did attract a few sets of eyes dressed as we were.

It was engrossing to watch, the smile on her face, and the serene yet concentrated expression her face shifted to each time she tried a new instrument. The man working there was practically shoving them at her to try with a brilliant smile on his face. I think she was just having fun, but I saw it the instant she tried one that she wanted. The shiver that rolled through her as she slid the bow along the strings. She played on that one the longest, and as soon as she finished I plucked it from her fingers.

"We'll take this one," I said with a smile. And Bella started shaking her head quickly.

"Edward, no," she said, sounding panicked. "That violin is over a hundred years old-"

"So?" I asked in confusion. "You like it."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then I'm getting it," I said logically, walking away with it before she could argue any more. The man was already setting up the cash, and I pulled her along to find a case for it too. It was a bit over ten grand, but her smile was worth a hundred times that.

The second place we stopped at was another music store that the driver recommended when we came back out, to see if we were interested. We decided to check it out, and my God, that place was a guitarist's dream. Wunjo I think it was called. They had an impressive collection of vintage Gibsons, and Bella was watching me with a smile as I inspected them.

"They have a really nice selection," she mused, wrapping herself around my arm. I wasn't quite sure if she was trying to hide behind me a little bit, we were still working on her getting used to the looks, and once again, our attire drew a bit of notice. She looked fucking hot.

"They do." None of them felt quite right though, though I admired each of them.

And then a true beauty caught my eye. I'd played on an ES-355TD once before, but it hadn't been for sale. And it had been white. White guitars bothered me. This was a gorgeous, deep red though.

"Are you just going to keep picking them up, or are you going to do something with one of them?" She teased, bumping her hip against me. I raised an eyebrow at her, slid on the shoulder strap and sat down in the bench I was standing by. I shivered as I gave it a gentle strum. I loved the semi acoustics, they were so much softer.

I already had a song in my mind, and I started plucking the soft intro. Bella recognized the song of course, and she smiled. Until I smirked, and her eyes went wide before she quickly started shaking her head, but it was too late.

"_Angie, Angie, when will those clouds all disappear?__  
__Angie, Angie, where will it lead us from here?_

_"With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats__  
__You can't say we're satisfied_

_"But Angie, Angie, you can't say we never tried_

_"Angie, you're beautiful, but ain't it time we said good-bye?  
__  
__"Angie, I still love you, remember all those nights we cried?  
__  
__"All the dreams we held so close seemed to all go up in smoke__  
__Let me whisper in your ear:"_

I stood up, and leaned in to her ear, improvising a little.

"_Bella, Bella, where will it lead us from here?"_

"Edward-"

"_Oh Bella don't you weep, all your kisses still taste sweet__  
__I hate that sadness in your eyes  
__  
__"But Bella, Bella, I won't ever say goodbye."_

"_Edward!"_ She hissed, her face glowing as red as a tomato, and I shook my head as I went on.

"_We've got this pull in our souls, I could never let you go__  
__You couldn't make me if you tried_

_"But Bella, you know I love you baby__  
__Everywhere I look I see your eyes__  
__There ain't a woman that comes close to you__  
__Come on baby, dry your eyes_

_"Oh Bella, Bella, ain't it good to be alive?__  
__Bella, Bella, they can't say we never tried."_

Her eyes were a little watery, though slightly annoyed. I just grinned, moving the guitar away so I could yank her towards me with an arm around her waist.

"Come on baby, I've always wanted to serenade someone," I said with a smile, and her anger just dissolved before she yanked my face down to hers and kissed me. "And you _said_ I should sing more."

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

Yeah, I bought that guitar. It was even more expensive then Bella's violin, but it was awesome.

"I'm not quite sure if you're an impulsive buyer, or a good procurer," Bella mused with a teasing grin.

"Maybe I'm a bit of both," I said with a wink, making her laugh.

We had a nice, romantic dinner, where Bella was almost too intimidated by the food to eat it. She didn't know what half of the stuff on the menu even was, and just let me order for her. We ended up having steak. Then I took her to a showing of Wicked, and found out that she'd never been to the theatre before. She'd been beaming the entire time though, and seemed to love it.

The photos were a little annoying, but didn't really bother either of us.

I was probably going to end up looking for some of the photos online to be honest, just because she looked fucking stunning tonight, and I wanted a picture to remember the night. Who needs selfies when you're constantly followed by a hoard of photographers?

She was a little drunk by the time we got back to the hotel, she wasn't working tomorrow and decided to skip her sleeping pills, not that I minded having such a gorgeous woman hanging off of my arm and laughing. I gave the press a bit of a show when we stepped out of the limo and I kissed the hell out of her, getting a few cheers before I dragged her back inside, laughing.

Zeus was bouncing around excitedly when we got back, I'd had him scheduled to be walked twice while we were out, but he'd still been lonely.

It wasn't possible to top the birthday that she had given me last year, but hearing her happy, excited squeal and laughter when I gave her the package for ski-diving lessons with me for when we got to the states was all I needed. She'd loved that stunt so much that I thought she might like it, and I was pleased to find out I was right.

And I only made it to eight, but I had to stop because she begged me to, a little over-sensitive from the long day. She fell asleep easily, curled against me with a big, content smile stretching across her face after a nice long soak with me in the Jacuzzi. Candles, bubbles, flowers and all. It was kind of girly but she loved it.

. . . . .

We weren't really sad to leave London, just happy to be home. Even if it wasn't the home that we wanted. After a two-day break I went back to filming.

It was killing me, and it was near-impossible to concentrate on my work. Bella had come in with me on my first day back, to keep me company, but I was just too busy to get to talk to her much. I assured her that I still enjoyed having her around, multiple times, but I could tell that she just felt like she was in the way.

So she started staying at home while I worked, but I think that was even worse. Without her job to focus on and keep herself busy, she seemed to get a little depressed. Or maybe just lonely. My hours were long and exhausting, and by the time I finished and got home it was straight to bed, then up at the crack of dawn to start it all over. I tried to do as much as I could for her, but there just wasn't enough time in the day as we got closer to the end of shooting.

Six days after we got back though, she had to start packing again. She was going to LA on her own for a week.

Rose had her baby, a little girl that they named Renee, after Bella's mother.

God, I wanted to go with her so badly. Not just to meet my new soon-to-be-niece, but I knew that it was going to be hard on her. Emmett's the only one that I'd mentioned her stress to, and I just had to hope that he'd be able to keep an eye on her.

Zeus would be staying with me. Though I knew it would be hard for her without him, she didn't want to put him through the stress of the flights.

I was so uneasy that I felt nauseous as I drove her to the airport. We managed to get there without being followed, and I made sure to keep a bright smile on my face as I walked her in, carrying her suitcase for her. She didn't need the extra stress of worrying about me as well.

It wasn't easy to let her go, and the kiss I gave her before she had to go through security wasn't really appropriate for public, but she assured me that she'd call me as soon as she got to the apartment, and that Emmett was picking her up. After watching her walk away, I drove over to the studio for a long day of recording voice-overs.

. . . . .

It was weird, being alone. It's not like I was helpless on my own, or depressed, I just felt her absence like a hole in my chest. Even when she hadn't been speaking to me, I still drove in with her. This was by far better than that though, she called me every night before she went to bed, which was three hours before I would, so I was usually still on the set. No one fucked with me when I was on the phone though.

Bella sounded like she was doing pretty well with everything, though I don't think I'd fully believe it until I saw her again. It was easier for me to read her eyes than her voice over the phone.

I was a little proud of myself, because really, I was okay. I remembered how hard it had been being away from her before we came here, that constant fear that something was going to happen to her had been almost crippling.

Bella could take care of herself though, I knew that, and the fear had faded over time. There wasn't anything that we couldn't handle together. I could take care of myself too, but we were just better, stronger, when we were together.

And I think being able to be apart from each other like this too would just make us even stronger.

. . . . .

She ran through the terminal and jumped into my arms when she saw me, and I clutched onto her tightly. The relief was immediate and intoxicating, and as soon as her hold loosened my lips were on hers, urgent and hungry.

"God, I missed you so fucking much," I whispered, trying to suppress my irritation at all the fucking pictures and flashes.

"I missed you too," she said with watery eyes and a glowing smile. We quickly got her bag from luggage before fleeing out to the truck, then had to leave quickly before we could get boxed in.

I think their numbers were starting to go down a bit. We both relaxed once we were out on the road again.

"How was your flight?" I asked, smiling as I took her hand and brought the back of it up to my lips.

"Um… it was okay," she said uneasily.

"What happened?" I asked knowingly.

"Nothing happened, I just didn't care for my neighbour," she said quietly.

"Why?" I tried not to let my voice come out sharp, but the easiest way for someone to piss me off was to make my girl frown like that.

"He wouldn't stop asking me questions. I think he was trying to record me or something, and then he just kind of made me feel like a bitch for not wanting to talk to him. You were right, I should have just bought out the seat next to me."

"I'm sorry baby." I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she gave me a small smile. I wasn't going to say I told you so, because it wasn't like I liked upsetting her. It was over and done with now. Next time she had a flight somewhere, I'd be taking the seat next to her, she wouldn't have to worry about it again.

"How's work going?"

"Exhausting," I said with a sigh. "Only two more weeks though, and all these crazy hours will be done with." Bella smiled brightly at that, as did I.

"So… speaking of the end of all this… did you have any costume ideas for the wrap-up party?" She asked, worrying her bottom lip. I shrugged. I didn't care for cast parties, or Halloween parties. It's not like I hated them, not when I knew she'd be there with me, I just didn't really care either way.

"Not really, I'm fine with anything," I said easily. I didn't even want to go, but I'd look like a huge ass if I bailed, being the star and all. Bella sighed in relief.

"Good, because I got you a costume." She looked a little nervous, but I smiled easily. She was saving me the effort of looking myself, and I was kind of relieved.

"Cool, thank you." She smiled when I placed a kiss on the back of her hand again. "Did you get one for yourself too?"

"Mhmm. Alice is mailing them over. They'll be here sometime this week."

We grabbed some take-out on the way home, and sat out in the backyard together after Zeus calmed down. He'd completely flipped out seeing his mommy again.

"So, how's your brother handling everything?" I asked hesitantly. I really wasn't sure how she'd react talking about her niece. She gave me a small smile.

"They're good, though a little overwhelmed. Emmett had shit on his face when he picked me up. I didn't say anything. Took him two hours to notice." I laughed loudly at that. "They're… they're doing great though. They're really happy."

There was the slightest shake in her voice, and I moved closer to her before brushing a hand back through her hair, cupping the back of her neck so I could hold her gaze.

"And how are you doing?" I asked gently.

"I'm okay," she said softly, but saw that I obviously didn't believe her. "Really, I am. I'm happy for them," she said with a watery smile.

She didn't have to say the rest, I saw it plain and clear in her eyes.

She was happy for them, but she was envious. She wanted what they had, she just wanted the _possibility_ of what they had.

But she didn't. _We_ didn't.

And I hated the fear in her eyes. Her worry that I wouldn't want her because of that, that someday I might want more, that this wouldn't be enough.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

"Bella, it's going to be okay," I assured her, cupping her face as her eyes watered.

"But… what if someday-"

"No," I said quietly.

"But with Tanya, you said-"

"I know I said that but… baby, with Tanya, I was just trying to do what I thought was the right thing. Yeah, I was excited, but it was because of the idea of having someone to love. I have that with you in spades. I love you so fucking much it hurts. _You_ are all I need, you're all I want. I'm not marrying you because I want babies and some big family. I'm not trying to fill some emotional hole. I'm marrying you because you're everything to me. I don't need anything else, _just you_. That is not going to change, I can promise you that."

"Really?" She breathed, her tears slowly trickling over her cheeks.

"I swear. I know what I want Bella. I've had plenty of time to think about it. I'd been carrying that fucking ring with me everywhere since January. I'm completely sure about you, this, _us_, and it isn't going to change. Okay?"

"January?" She asked in surprise. I smiled.

"I picked it up in Italy when we were on tour. I've _always_ been sure about you Bella. I wouldn't trade you for anything in the fucking world. Okay?"

She nodded, and I swiped away her tears before leaning in and kissing her, and tried to reassure her with my body what I'm not sure she completely believed in my words.

. . . . .

**Things are winding down, next chapter is the last regular chapter, and then there is one short epilogue afterwards.**

**What do you think Edward will do to try to cheer up his Bella? He's not good at sitting idly by while she's suffering. What did you think of his birthday present for her?**

**What do you like to do to cheer yourself up on a bad day? Me, I like to do this. I take my laptop to the beach and write until my battery dies. Reading your reviews puts a pretty damn big smile on my face too.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey guys… well, this is the last regular chapter. There's a short epilogue, but that's it.**

**This part has been long overdue. Enjoy!**

**Song – No You Girls – Franz Ferdinand**

. . . . . . . . . . .

After four days, I had to do something. I just panicked slightly, I guess.

It really had seemed like a good idea at the time.

I wasn't capable of watching her suffer and doing nothing about it though. This was different than after the whole Jane debacle. Without her work, and it just not being do-able anymore for her to really go out on her own, I knew that she was spending the majority of her time at home, with Zeus, writing.

And I knew that it was something she needed to do, so though I hated seeing her subject herself to it, I had to let her.

And the only time I really got to spend with her was when I slept.

I should have just waited the week. One more week and it would have been over. But I couldn't do it.

Like I said, I may have panicked a little. But when I walked into the Humane Society and I saw him, it was like the universe was just giving me a giant blinking sign. It seemed perfect, at the time.

But as I pulled in through the gate, I wasn't quite so sure anymore. This is one of those things that you're supposed to like, talk about first. Shit, she could get like, _really_ pissed off about this. And we were leaving for our wedding in three weeks. Then the honeymoon.

Shit.

I pulled into the garage. Once I turned off the engine, I undid my seatbelt and looked down at the carrier next to me. The tiny white and grey malamute husky puppy with ice-blue eyes was gnawing happily on the wires of the door.

I groaned, banging my head on my steering wheel three times before I grabbed the handle, and got out of the truck.

I walked through the house, and found Bella out on the back patio. Her laptop was on the table in front of her, closed, and she had her knees drawn up to her chest, her forehead resting against them. Zeus was curled up under her chair, it was a little impressive that he managed to fit himself there. Though he heard me come out, his ears and eyes perking up, she did not. His tail started thumping excitedly on the ground as he looked up, but he stayed where he was when I held out my hand for him to be still.

He was so well trained.

The puppy was not.

He started barking excitedly, shifting and wiggling around in the crate and almost making me drop it.

Bella's head whipped up as she jumped in surprise.

She stared at me with wide eyes as I set down the crate. I just ripped off the Band-Aid and opened the door.

Jesus, I hope she'll still marry me. I was dizzy from holding my breath.

Bella gasped, her hands clapping over mouth, starring at the puppy as he bounced around Zeus, barking excitedly while the giant dog just sat there, his tail whipping around like crazy as he tried to smell him.

"Edward? What… whose dog is this?" She asked in a strained voice.

I couldn't read the emotion in her eyes.

"Er… y-" I coughed to clear my throat. "Yours. Well, ours, I guess"

"You… bought me a puppy?" She whispered. I nodded.

"He's six months old, fixed, has all his shots. They think he's a malamute… His name is Titan."

Her eyes watered, and spilled over. She leaned over and held out her hand. Titan stopped his bouncing to smell her, then started licking her hand, making her laugh. When he made a little whining sound, wiggling around excitedly, her face split with the most brilliant, happy smile before she picked him up, laughing when he started licking her face.

I finally exhaled, letting myself breathe.

"Edward! Oh my god, he's so cute!" She practically squealed, laughing as she covered his face in kisses.

"So you like him? You're not mad?" I asked hopefully, walking the rest of the way over to her. She shook her head frantically, still crying, and set the fluffy puppy down before practically pouncing on me, and coving my face in kisses.

"No! Thank you! Oh my god, I love him, I love you! Thank you Edward!"

I laughed. "Oh my god, I've never seen you act like such a girl before."

She smacked me in the back of the head before kissing me fiercely.

"And I don't think you got this excited when I asked you to marry me," I teased, but I was expecting the blow and caught her wrist easily. She smirked.

"Are you saying you didn't enjoy how I… _thanked_ you?"

I laughed loudly at that. "No, that is not what I'm saying at all."

"I love you so fucking much."

"Love you too baby."

I'd buy her a whole fucking litter of puppies if it meant making her smile like that.

"Where'd you get him?"

"Humane Society. They're not sure if he's purebred, they got a whole litter that someone found. They just got cleared today. His paperwork is in the truck." She beamed, and looked over at Zeus and Titan, who were both barking and chasing each other around our huge yard. He looked like a white and grey soccer ball compared to Zeus' size. It was impossible not to smile seeing her face like that, and I cupped that gorgeous face, swiping away at her tears before kissing her happily, and she held onto me tightly.

Happy tears, I did not mind at all.

. . . . . . . . . .

Well, at least she didn't get the one with the tights. Actually, I think I looked really, _really_ fucking cool. I would have made an awesome Captain America.

And this costume looked extremely damn authentic.

"Baby? Where exactly did you get-"

My voice cut off as I choked on my breath, walking out of the bathroom and into our bedroom. Bella was standing in front of our big mirror, fixing her make-up. She was wearing a dark-red, wavy, shoulder-length wig, and a black leather suit that zipped up the front. She had the cut-off gloves, the boots, the belt and holster. Everything. Shit.

Holy fucking shit.

I was having sex with the Black Widow tonight.

I just stared, and she grinned at me through the mirror before turning to face me.

"What do you think?"

"Fuck."

It was the only word that came to mind.

"Mmm, well I think you would have made a pretty damn good Captain America," she said, slinking over to me. She was grinning appreciatively as she trailed her fingers down my chest. "I knew you'd look good in this costume," she purred.

"I…" Shit. I closed my eyes tightly, and took a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes though I couldn't stop myself. I cupped the back of her neck, yanking her towards me as my lips crashed down on hers. Her fingers dug into my arms as I backed her against the wall, her breath leaving her in a huff from the impact. A soft moan escaped her lips as mine moved hungrily down her throat, and I slowly slid down the zipper of her bodysuit.

"Edward-" She gasped. "This thing isn't exactly easy to get in and out of."

"Then you shouldn't have fucking bought it," I growled, fumbling with her fucking utility belt. It clattered as it fell to the floor.

"Boots," she choked out, and I spun her around, pushing her back on the bed, and she helped me get them off hurriedly before I finished tackling that zipper. I didn't bother taking off my costume, but she didn't seem to mind at all, and she just whimpered as I thrust into her. I'm pretty sure I was going to have bruises from her nails, her fingers digging into my arms so sharply. Didn't fucking care though.

It was fast, and a little frantic, but my girl was still shaking underneath me by the time I finished with her.

. . .

We were a little late to the limo, because we both needed another shower, and Bella had been right. Neither of our costumes were that easy to get in and out of.

Totally worth it though.

"Baby?" She asked, pulling me from my ogling once more.

"What's up?"

"Just so you're not blind-sided later tonight, I wanted to give you a head-up."

I watched her for a minute. "Jane?" She nodded. "Are you sure tonight's a good night? What are you doing?"

"It has to be tonight. And… I need you to play along. I think that would be easier to do if you don't know what's happening."

"Play along?" I asked curiously. She just nodded. My curiosity was killing me, but if she wanted to do it this way, I was going to let her. I didn't think there would be anything that she could do that I wouldn't approve of. There was only one thing I cared about, which was her. And I didn't want to push her, not after the last time I had with Marcus' offer. I'd been being careful of it. "Will you be okay?"

She nodded with a bright smile, and I relaxed a little.

Bella had the biggest grin on her face as we drove over in the limo, and we looked fucking awesome when we walked in together. The press lost their shit. We gave them a few poses, and they ate it up.

The party was awesome. It was in the same place that we'd had the casting party, but this time Bella wasn't here as security. She was here as my fiancé, my date, like I'd wished she had been just over a year ago.

We'd been together as a couple for over a year now, and what a year had been.

Victor was dead, and Bella was finally coming to terms with the fact that his reign of terror really hadn't been her fault, despite what she'd been forced to believe for a large portion of her life.

We were getting married in Belize in two weeks.

Bella and I were living together with our two dogs.

My fiancé was even now living under her real identity.

And now, we were finally done with our movie. It would be a few months before editing was complete and we had to do our premiere tour, because she was obviously coming with me for that.

She'd just come so far since the shooting in February. It was astonishing when I thought about it. I was so proud of her, for so many things, sticking with her therapy was merely one of them. She'd told me that she would be keeping in touch with Sib through correspondence once we left here, which I was happy about. She still had a little ways to go, and I knew there would be relapses, but I also knew she was going to be okay.

We walked through the crowd, laughing and talking with all of the friends and co-workers we'd made here in LA. Marcus could only be classified as a proud uncle. The way he dragged Bella around, introducing her to his friends... I knew he was trying to get her into the business, he hadn't lost his hope of doing so, but both of us knew that it wasn't going to happen. We'd both had enough excitement in our lives to last a few lifetimes. All we wanted now was to just _live_.

And we didn't even need to try to avoid Jane. Her paranoia over the past few weeks was obviously eating away at her. She jumped at the slightest noise or quick movements, living in fear and constantly looking over her shoulder. She'd impossibly lost even more weight, looking concerningly thin in her costume. I think she had tried to dress as her name-sake, but I'm pretty sure Queen Jane had been one of King Henry's more… innocent wives. Jane made Elizabethan royalty garb look kind of trashy.

I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd been doing drugs, she just looked like she was tripping out tonight, running in the opposite direction whenever she caught sight of us. It was nice.

Bella had had a few drinks, and seemed a little tipsy, and the way that she was watching me was driving me insane. I swear, if she bit her lip one more time…

Like she was reading my mind, she did it, and I practically growled at her.

She grinned, and leaned up to whisper into my ear. I hunched down a bit for her, my arm snaking around her waist again.

"If you go out that back door there, there's a garden, and in the back right corner is this little secluded-"

I started tugging her towards the door, not needing anymore details, but she stopped me.

I may have pouted.

"Meet me there in a couple minutes? I just have to make a phone call first," she whispered.

"To who?"

She just shook her head, pleading with me not to ask with her eyes.

I sighed, and nodded before kissing her cheek. She pulled me over to the door, and started talking to Marcus, who was there with his wife and a friend of his. He asked me a question, and Bella just vanished into thin air.

By the time they finished with me, and I made it out to the outskirts of the garden, Bella was leaning against a large maple that was wrapped in tiny twinkle lights. She looked so damn happy to see me, and it was impossible not to kiss those smiling lips.

It was a while before we stumbled back into the party, both slightly disheveled, and I froze, pulling Bella slightly behind me when someone screamed.

Bella knocked me to the side though when Jane flew at her, her hands curled into claws, and her face streaked with tears.

I knew Bella could have evaded Jane's lunge easily, but she didn't. She let her grab her.

Jane grabbed her, ripping off her wig, and Bella knocked her back with a hard shove in the ribs. Apparently she wouldn't be easily deterred though, and when she came at her again, the room went silent when Bella delivered an expert right hook to her face.

I heard the sickening crunch of her nose breaking before Jane dropped unconscious to the ground.

And then, what she did next, I knew that I'd be giving her my fucking Emmy for her performance.

Bella started crying, looking completely panicked and scared, yelling for someone to call an ambulance.

"I- I didn't mean to! But she just kept coming, I-" One of the security staff that had medical training ran over with a first aid kit, and Bella turned into me when I pulled her into my arms, crying into my chest. I held her tightly, playing along and soothing her even though I knew she was totally faking it. She made herself sound a little drunk, even though I knew our fresh air break had sobered her up.

Jane came to a couple minutes later, but when she lunged for Bella again, she was restrained by security.

"YOU BITCH! This is your fault! I _know_ you did it!"

"W-what?" My fiancé stuttered, leaning into me and sniffling. The police and EMTs made it in then though, and there were hundreds of witnesses to Jane's crazed assault.

No one would deny that Bella acted purely in self defense.

"NO! Let go of me! She set me up! SHE PLANNED THIS! She _made_ me do it!"

And Jane was beyond reasoning, shrieking hysterically. She was cuffed and patted down, and the whole room was witness to the bag of cocaine being found on her. She swore it wasn't hers, but at the same time, it was obvious that she was high as a fucking kite as the police dragged her away.

Marcus rushed over, frantic, but Bella assured him that she was okay. She had a scrape on one cheek, but beside that, she was fine. We stuck around for a little longer, but it was a little too crazy, so we ended up leaving as soon as it was socially acceptable and fled back to our limo.

I waited until we got home, and we sat out in the dark in the backyard, letting the dogs burn out their excitement. I pulled her down onto our white and blue outdoor couch.

"So, now may I be filled in? Bravo, by the way, for an excellent performance." She bit onto her lip.

"What are you talking about?" She asked innocently, making me laugh.

"You might have fooled the rest of the room, but I know you too well. You faked that whole thing, and Jane couldn't land a hand on you in her deepest dreams."

She sighed, and looked at me warily, but with determination too.

"I don't make idle threats," she said seriously, watching my eyes carefully.

I looked at her in confusion for a minute, and then understanding clicked in.

"You wanted her to attack you. That's why you let her."

She nodded once, just a light bob of her head.

"It was the only way I could find to hit her without being charged for assault."

"Why'd she snap at you? What was she talking about?"

She let out a silent breath, before pulling out her phone. She tapped at it for a minute or two before handing it to me.

It was a TMZ article, and on it, was every actor and actress' worst nightmare.

Bella had hacked into her e-mail, or cloud, or phone, or computer, or maybe all four. What she had found on Jane made what she found on Jess look like a Disney movie. Naked photos that I really would rather not have seen, a sex tape, photos of her with… multiple men. And I'm not talking about different pictures with different guys. I mean multiple men in the same photo. Pictures of her doing drugs, police charges and fines that she had managed to previously keep under the rug. DUIs, assault, indecent exposure, public intoxication. E-mails about people she'd worked with, worked _for_.

Jane would never work a day in this industry again. No one would touch her after this.

"Jesus." I looked up at Bella, who was still watching me warily. "You did this?"

"Yes."

I pulled a hand through my hair uneasily, but when I remained quiet, and noticed Bella slowly starting to panic, I quickly made sure she didn't get the wrong idea.

I wasn't uneasy because I hadn't thought Bella would be capable of something of this magnitude. On the contrary, I knew she was. It was a part of her that I accepted, because really, I thought she had kind of earned it, after her life. After what she'd been through, she needed it to survive.

What had bothered me was the fact that I'd actually fucking kissed that woman. It made me feel sick to my stomach. I assured Bella quickly though, holding her gaze and looking her right in the eyes.

That, and the fact that I wish it had been me to do it, not her, because I hated that woman more than anyone in the world.

"Good, she fucking deserves it."

She sighed in relief.

"You're not disgusted with me?" She asked in a small voice.

"No baby."

And then she hugged me tightly, and I held her tightly back. I smiled, feeling an odd sort of peace settle over me.

Yeah, we were going to be alright.

. . . . . . . . . . .

"How am I supposed to pack if you won't tell me where I'm going?" She pouted, crawling onto my lap, straddling me in her tiny denim skirt.

The woman knew how to play on my weaknesses, I'd give her that, but I wasn't going to budge on this. I just shrugged, smirking as I ran my hands up her soft legs, enjoying the view.

"You know where we're going. It's a beach, it will be hot."

"But you said we weren't coming back before we go to…?"

I laughed. "Nope."

"Edward…" She pouted again, leaning into me and wrapping her arms around my neck, hers fingers playing in the back of my hair. "Please?"

"Nope."

"Then how will I know what to pack! Just give me a hint!"

"Nope."

"How long will we be gone?"

I just shrugged, and she swatted away my hand when it ducked under her skirt.

"Is it in the same climate?"

I just smiled at her.

"Warmer or colder?"

I just kept smiling, and twisted a lock of her silky hair around my index finger. She huffed adorably, and I cupped the back of her neck, pulling her down for a kiss before she could storm off, and she giggled when I flipped her over and pinned her down on the couch.

"It doesn't matter what you pack, we can just go shopping and I'll buy you whatever you need when we get there," I told her easily, kissing her again before she could even think of arguing.

. . . . .

I don't get how my sister had gotten so stressed out planning her wedding. I knew Bella's brother had had it pretty easy, because Bella had done all the fucking work for him, but it had been a piece of cake.

We didn't feel the need to really conform to any superstitions or so-called traditions. We both got what we wanted; the others couldn't surprise us with bachelor/bachelorette parties when they were stuck on a plane. It was perfect. For us, our marriage was nothing but a name and a promise. It was just admitting that we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives, not just to each other, but to our families as well.

We were very private, careful, about leaving. I'd bought the entire first-class section of our plane for our party, and we all arrived separately to the airport.

The biggest piece of work had been the schmoozing I'd had to do to get people to make certain… exceptions, for Zeus and Titan. We'd had it arranged for their crates to be secured in the plane, and not in the cargo hold. Not only for Bella, but for myself, because I just couldn't let my boys get packed away and left alone like fucking suitcases. Even going back to New York I hadn't been able too, but Bella had been happy to do a road trip. It took up about five days to make the forty-two hour drive, but I'd loved it. We even bought a tent and stopped at a camp ground instead of a hotel for the night Colorado, it was great.

That, and the resort hadn't permitted pets either. But, I don't think it was often that they had their entire island booked for two weeks for one party. There were only six little separate, condo-like suites on their island, so really, renting out that one extra place to ensure we had it to ourselves wasn't really a big deal to me.

And the resort did the rest of the work for us. The ceremony, the meals, everything.

Rose had been practically in tears on the way here, she wouldn't admit it aloud, but it was obvious that she was in dire need of a break. Renee, our god daughter, was a crier. She was going to be an opera singer someday with lungs like those. Bella didn't say anything, because it was obvious that it frustrated Rose, but when my fiancé held that little girl she'd silence immediately and just stare at her with her big blue eyes.

We'd given them the contact information so they could let the staff know of anything they might need. I knew at first they'd been a little worried about travelling with Renee, but when they thought of having their every need catered to for two weeks at a private resort, not having to shop, cook, clean or work, they'd been eager to leave. I made damn sure that it would be an offer they couldn't say no to. Neither of us were having bridesmaids or groomsmen, but Emmett was going to be giving her away. She needed him, both of them, there. I think everyone was excited for a little vacation to be honest, and I was glad to have this.

Because now, with work all behind us, as I listened to the cool breeze blowing through the curtains of the opened door leading to our own private beach, I didn't see us going back home any time soon. It was nice that we were all together now with nothing to do but our one ceremony tomorrow, and then all the time we wanted to relax with our families, and enjoy their company unhindered or hurried.

This feeling that settled over me as I watched my beautiful fiancé asleep next to me, knowing that we were free… well, I didn't want to give that up. We could do whatever we wanted for the next few months, and then after the tour, we could do whatever we wanted for the rest of our lives.

I just wanted _her_. I wanted to show her the world, to make a million new memories with her, and make her smile in any way that I possibly could, every single day, for the rest of our lives.

. . . . .

**Yeah, Edward bought her a puppy. What did you think about his gift to cheer her up?**

**And Jane got hers. Are you disappointed?**

**So, this is the end my friends. I'll post the epilogue soon, it's a short future take, and then I'll say good-bye. I didn't think it was necessary to write out the whole wedding, though once I get there in Bella's story there will be more details. I hope you're not disappointed. **

**Thanks for reading, leave a review!**


	34. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

. . . . . . . . . .

It was always nice coming back to New York. Though we hadn't spent much time here over the past three years, it would always be home. We always looked forward to coming back here for a bit though, and we did for most holidays.

This wasn't for a holiday, but Bella had caved when mom had asked for her help to organize this year's charity. I think she was just ready to come home.

We had really needed the time, the distance from it all, to help find out who we were. There had been so many bad memories here, just like in LA. We'd kept the house, and lent it out to family whenever someone went down or when we visited Marcus, but it wasn't home like New York was.

The apartment was where it had all started.

It had been amazing though. We'd spent the last three years travelling the world. After our small wedding, and our vacation at the resort in Belize with our family, we'd stayed in Italy until Christmas. Then we came back for a month, just relaxing, spending time with the others, and getting to know our god daughter.

Then we went to France. Home for a couple weeks. New Zealand. Home. We spent six months sailing to the Caribbean.

Then we came back for the birth of my sister's first child. Damien was a little shit disturber. He was barely two, and I swear, that kid was more destructive than Titan had been as a puppy. And that dog had destroyed about a hundred K in shoes in his first year with us.

Only mine though. They never touched Bella's shoes, the little demon just liked to taunt me. He could do no wrong in his mother's eyes. After a couple months though, we had hit the road again.

We liked our personal space, we liked our quiet.

There had been plenty of places to explore in the US.

We'd visited all of the seven wonders of the world, though my wife swore she would never touch the desert on the other side of the world again. The bugs had been too much for her.

Japan had been beautiful.

As had Australia. And Rio.

When I found out Bella had never been on a roller coaster, we spent six months doing just that. We went to every large amusement park in the world.

Honestly, I don't know where we _hadn't _gone. After our first year of marriage, the press had finally given up, and backed off. We didn't need security to go out in public anymore, which was awesome. The fans still got a little crazy, even though neither of us had done any work besides charity projects since Marcus' movie.

Even the two screen plays Bella had written, most of her proceeds she had donated and divided amongst her charities.

I think though, now, we were ready to settle back down. Get into a more steady sort of lifestyle. Renee and Damien were getting older, and Rose and Emmett had their second on the way.

Bella was planning to start up her classes again. I told her I would help if she wanted, because I was pretty damn good. I had the best, hottest martial-arts instructor in the world.

I wasn't really thinking of doing anything myself. My music and my books kept me busy, and I knew my mom would put me to work if we stayed. Bella and I were working on our own screen-play together now as well.

We could do anything, and just that thought had me smiling as I tried to find my wife.

The turnout was impressive, and I mean _very_ impressive. They'd built a damn carnival, but I couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Bella had filled me in on the stats, explaining why my mom had wanted to do this this year. The amount of children that were crammed together in those overcrowded orphanages, foster homes, and group homes, was heart breaking. I'd seen their budgets, the shapes the facilities were in, how over-worked the employees were. We were more than willing to help, and by the looks of the turn out, we were helping out a lot. I'd done a few campaign videos, but this fair was going to bring in the big numbers.

I was excited for the piece that Bella and I were doing together later during the outdoor concert, but after the last hour of signing autographs and weaving through crowds, all I really wanted was to find my wife, and find somewhere quiet to sit and have something to eat. I wasn't used to all this crazy anymore.

I stopped in my tracks when I caught sight of her. She was even more beautiful than the day I met her. She got more beautiful every single day.

That wasn't why I stopped though, I was just a little surprised. She had her big sunglasses on, wearing her tight pale jeans, a white sleeveless blouse, and her black, strappy Jimmy Choos. On her left lying in the grass were Zeus and Titan, but it was her company on her right that had my attention. He couldn't have been older than five, with messy, dark-brown hair, and bright green eyes. He was wearing a pair of old jeans and a threadbare black t-shirt with a faded Batman symbol on it.

He seemed to be trying hard to scowl, but his eyes kept flickering over to my wife curiously over his ice cream cone. Bella was talking quietly around hers, and my stomach rumbled.

I walked over.

"Where'd you get the ice cream?" I asked hopefully, and Bella grinned at me.

"A guy went by with one of those cart things, he's long gone though," she said with a teasing grin, laughing when I groaned.

She gave me hers.

"God, I love you more every day," I said dramatically, giving her a hard kiss, before I looked down at her neighbour.

He was staring at me with wide eyes.

"Hey," I said with a nod and a smile. "What's up?"

He stared, wide-eyed for a moment, then it looked like he forced himself to scowl as he looked down at his sneakers.

"Hi," he mumbled. His eyes kept flickering up to me though, just like they did with Bella, but he didn't say anything else. I looked down at my wife with a smirk, raising a questioning eyebrow.

And I knew that look in her eyes when she looked at that little boy. I knew what it meant, because I knew her so well that we rarely had to even talk to communicate anymore.

"Edward, this in Masen."

"Nice to meet you little dude."

"I'm not wittle," he grumbled, and scowled at me. I laughed, until my wife shot me a warning look.

"Okay, my bad. Are you enjoying the fair?"

He shrugged.

"Why aren't you like, playing with your friends or something? There's tons of rides."

"Because my fwiends are assholes," he mumbled, making me laugh.

Bella didn't though, she just watched him worriedly, and it was then that I noticed that his face had paled, and he looked like he was scared, shaking slightly.

Shit. I did not like that kid looking at me like he was scared of me, and as my mind raced with the possibilities of why he may have reacted like that, a tight soreness started to spread in my chest.

Bella sat back, and the kid seemed to relax, seeing her look so calm and relaxed herself.

"I'm sorry to hear that Masen," she said softly, then gave him a wicked smirk. "Unfortunately, a large percentage of the human race are assholes. There are good people out there though, sometimes it just takes a while to find them."

He gave her a shy, tentative smile, which she returned with a bigger one.

"I couldn't agree more baby," I said, and I saw that look in her eyes again. That hopeful, wanting look. I watched that hopeful expression on her face, and knew my mind was already made up. I turned back to Masen again.

"Hey Masen, wanna play fetch with me, Zeus, and Titan? These guys know some pretty awesome tricks."

He looked up at me warily, but there was a flicker of hope in his eyes too.

"Weawwy?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm Edward, by the way." I held out my hand, and he shook it tentatively.

"You were Kellen," he said, a bit of curiosity in his expression now. "I saw you on the TV wast weekend."

Damn, that lisp was cute. I could tell he was trying pretty hard to sound older though, tougher.

He looked way too young to have watched that movie, but I refrained from saying that.

"Yup, that was me. You know my wife here, she was in that movie too."

His eyes went wide before he looked up at Bella with a giant smile.

"Weawwy?"

"Yup. I was a stunt double. That girl with the brown hair? I did all the parts where she was fighting."

"Cool! You can do all that stuffs?"

"Yup."

His eyes were hopeful, and yet… they looked so sad, scared.

"I bets that it'd be hard to hit you," he said quietly. "If you can do all that stuffs."

"You bet it is, this woman is practically a ninja. No one messes with her."

"Not even you?" He asked, sizing me up and watching me warily. It put a lump in my throat.

"Especially not him," she said with a smirk. "He might look tough, but he's just a big teddy bear," she said in a loud stage whisper. That seemed to comfort him a little bit.

"Can you… can you teach me?" He asked quietly, looking so damn hopeful. Bella looked up at me, her eyes pleading, and they watered when I gave her a small, inconspicuous nod.

"Sure, I'll teach you whatever you want to know," she promised.

He gave her a hopeful smile, and I cleared my throat.

"So, who wants to play catch?" I said with a smile. Both of the dogs jumped to their feet excitedly, barking, and Masen gave me a hesitant smile before the five of us got up and walked through the park together. Bella was smiling, and wrapped herself around my arm when Titan ran back with the tennis ball, dropping it at Masen's feet and barking excitedly, making him giggle happily.

. . . . . . . . . .

**Well guys, it hurts my heart to put an end to this. I had so much fun writing this story, and I'll miss it, but I still have Bella's to work on! That's right, I haven't abandoned her story. My life is just hectic right now and I don't have the time. **

**I want to give a really big thank you to every one that read my story, but a bigger one to those who have left reviews. Writing these stories takes a lot of time. About one percent or less of my readers take the time to leave a review, and it means a lot to get your feedback. It's the only payment I get for this. There are a few faithful reviewers that I want to specifically thank****; FAXalltheway, shaz308, Edwardsfirstkiss, sujari6, acw1, Cullenmeadow, madisonbelle, crackupmonkey, nix 69, MaryMary123, melissamary55, GorGirl, posses45, MDtwiwriter, Nissa-Cullen, (I'm sorry if I missed anyone!) and every single one of you other guys, guests included, that took the time to give me your thoughts!**** (If you don't want your name on here for some reason, just let me know and I'll take it down, but I love all you guys! **_**You**_** kept this story going.) And thanks to everyone who helped out, pointing out errors for me. I really appreciated the time you took to help me make this story better. I've gone through and tried to edit out more of my own errors and typos as well, for all you guys that said you wanted to read it again.**

**I hope all of y'all that say they wait until a story is complete before you review follow through ;) I want to know what you thought!**

**If you liked my writing, follow me! I have almost a dozen other stories on the go right now. Here are some of the titles so you can keep an eye open for them!**

**Silver Linings and Beautiful Lies**

**Break My Silence**

**Fated**

**Finders Keepers**

**Well, take care lovelies. I miss you already. It's been fun!**

**-Kitty**


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